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THE 

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION 

OF THE 

NEGROES. 



IN THE UNITED STATES 



BY CHARLES C, JOlfES. 



i ^'V> 






SAVANNAH: 

PUBLISHED BY THOMAS PURSE. 
1842. 






Entered according to the Act of Congress, in tlie year 
eighteen hundred and forty-two: 

Br C. C. JONES, 

In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United 
States for the District of Georgia. 



THOMAS PURSE, PRINTER, 
eavahnah. 



PREFACE. 



The preparation of the following pages has been undertaken 
at the suggestion of friends, seconded by the convictions of 
my own mind, that a small volume on the Religious Instruction 
of the JVegroes in the United States would not be an unacceptable 
offering to the Public, and especially the Christian Public, at 
the present time. Whatever I have before prepared or published 
on the subject has been freely used, whenever it has suited my 
purpose, in the present composition. 

I have endeavored to confine myself to the Religious 
Instruction of the Negroes, and have touched upon other 
subjects only when it has been necessary for the illustration or 
support of the one before me. 

I commend the Book to the candid consideration of those 

•who read it. My design has been to speak the truth plainly 

and in love, and to do good. May the blessing of Almighty 

God attend the effort. 

CHARLES COLCOCK JONES. 

Riceboro, Lihetiy County^ Ga., 7 
July 4th, 1842. I 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

Historical Sketch of the Religious Instrttction 
OF THE Negroes from their first introduction 
INTO the Couxtry IN 1620 to the year 1842 : 

DIVIDED INTO THREE PERIODS. 

Ihe First Period — From iheir introduction in 
1620 to the first census in 1790 : a period of 170 
years, 1 

1. Account of the Introduction of Negroes into the 
Colonies under the Government of Great Britain, - 2 

2. Estimated Negro Population of the Colonies at the 
Declaration of Independence and census of 1790, - 3 

3. Efforts for their Religious Instruction, both in 
Great Britain and America, year by year, during this 
Period, 6 

The Second Period — From the first census in 
1790 to 1820 : a period of 30 years, year by year, 47 

The Third Period — From 1820 to 1842 : a period 
of 22 years, year by year, 65 

1. Efforts year by year. Manuals of Instruction, 65 

2. Action of Ecclesiastical Bodies, and of different 
Denominations of Christians, ------- 89 

3. This period — a period of revival as to this partic- 
ular duty, throughout the Southern States, - - - 96 

4. General Observations, in conclusion of Historical 
Sketch, 99 



yu CONTENTS. 

P A.RT II. 

The Moral and Religious Condition of the 
Negroes 

I. Disadvantages to be encountered in prosecuting 
an inquiry into the Moral and Religious Condition 

of the Negroes in the United States, - - - 101 

1. 77(6 First Disadvantage. — Our intimate knowl- 
edge of the degraded moral character of the Negroes 103 

2. The Second Disadvantage. — Our difference of col- 
or and superior relations in society, ----- 104 

3. The Third Disadvantage. — Our latent, and in ma- 
ny instances, manifest, disinclination to the full dis- 
closure of the Moral and Religious Condition of the 
Negroes, --_____.----- 106 

4. The Fouiih Disadvantage. — The difficuty of ob- 
taining an insight into the Negro Character, - - llD 

II. Circumstances which affect their Moral and 

Religious Condition, 112 

1, The circumstances of the Slave Population, - - 112 

[1.] The N'egro in his Childhood. 

(a) Family Government, ---------- 112 

(h) Religious Instruction, private and public, - - 113 

(c Access to the Scriptures, ------- 115 

(d) Association, -----.-___- 115 

(e) Clothing, - 115 

(f) General mode of living, -..._.. HQ 
[2.] The Mgro at Mult .%e. 

(a) Family, - - - 116 

(h) Religious Instruction, - 117 

(c) Access to Scriptures, -------- 118 

(d) Marriage and Government, ------ 119 

2.. Circumstances of the Free Negro population, - 120 



CONTE1VT3. Vll. 

(a) Location, -- --.. J20 

(h) Station and Condition in Society, - - . - 120 

(c) Education and access to the Scriptures, - - 121 

(d) Houses of Public Worship, Ministers, and Sab- 
bath Schools, 122 

(e) Family Government, associations, and prospects 

of advancement in society, ------ 123 

III. Moral and Religious Condition of the Negroes 
in the United States, 124 

1. The Moral and Religious Condition of the Slave 

Population, -.. 125 

[1.] Country JS^egroes. 

(a) Ignorance ot the Doctrines and Duties of Chris- 
tianity, is prevalent among the Negroes, - - 125 
(h) Intimately connected with their ignorance is their 

Superstition, -- 127 

(c) Their sense of obligation to improve tlieir relig- 
ious privileges is seriously defective, - . - 128 

(d) They have but a poor standard of moral character, 
and are indifTerent to the general corruption of 
manners that prevails around them, - - - - 129 

(e) The frequency of Church Discipline and the 
character of the crimes requiring it, cast light 
upon their Moral and Religious Condition, - - 131 

(f) Brief view of prevailing vices, ----- 132 

1. Violations of Marriage Contract, - - - - 132 

2. Uncleanness, - - -------- 134 

3. Thef\, 135 

4. Falsehood, I35 

5. Qiiarreling and Fighting, ------. 136 

6. Insensibility of heart, - 137 

7. Profane swearing, --------. 137 

8. Drunkenness, ------*-.._ 137 

9. Sabbath breaking, -------_- 133 

[2.] Town and City JVegroes. 

[a) Classes, 139 



VUl. CONTENTS. 

(6) Comparison with country Negroes, - - - . 139 
[3.] Extracts from various Authors corroborative of 
the view taken of their Moral and Religious 

Condition, ------------ ]40 

2. Moral and Religious Condition of the Free Negro 

Population, ---.-.------- 145 

[1.] Prevailing Vices, 145 

(a) Lovers of pleasure and show, ------ 145 

{b) Proverbially idle, 146 

(c) Improvident, --------.-- ]46 

(d) Addicted to profane swearing, ----- 146 

(e) Quarreling, -- 146 

(f) Sabbath breaking, 146 

(g) Drunkenness, --.---.---- 146 

[h] Theft, 146 

(i) Lewdness, .--- 147 

[2.J Extracts from different publications, - - - 147 
[3.] General conclusions on the Moral and Religious 

Condition of the Negroes in the United States, 153 



PART III. 

Obligations of the Church of Christ to at- 
tempt THE Improvement of the Moral and 
Religious Condition of the Negroes in the 
United States, by affording them the Gospel. 

I. Obligations of the Church to afford the Gospel to 
the Negroes, 155 

1. To the Negroes in the Slave States. Considerations 
which place Ihcm first in their claims upon our 
benevolent attention, .--.--.-- 156 
They are the most dependent of all people upon us for 
tite word of life^ ------.-.-- 156 



CONTENTS. ix. 

They are (he. most needy and most accessille, - - . 158 
The obligation of the Church in the Slave-holding 
States to impart the Gospel to the Negroes within 
those States, imposed upon us. 

[1.] By the Providence of God, - 159 

[2.] By the Word cf God, 159 

(c) Passages of a general character, ----- 160 
{b) Express commands to masters, both in Old and 

New Testament. Relation recognized, - - - 161 
[3.] We cannot disregard this Obligation, thus impo- 
sed, without forfeiting — 
(a) Our Humanity, ---------- 165 

(6) Our Gratitude, 166 

(c) Our Consistency, ---------- 166 

{d) Our claim to the spirit of Christianity, - - - 168 
2. It is the duty of the white churches in the Free 
States to afford the Gospel to the Negroes in those 

States, 171 

[1.] Because of their general poverty, - - - - 171 

[2.] Their moral degradation, ------- 172 

[3.] Their dependence upon the whites, - - - - ]72 

[4.] And of consistency, --- 173 

II. Excuses ia relation to a discharge of the Obli- 
gations now proved to rest upon the Church of 
Christ, usually advanced in the Slave States, - 175 

1. The Negroes have the Gospel already, - - - 175 

2. They are incapable of receiving religious instruc- 
tion except to a very limited extent, ----- 178 

3. The Gospel meets with little success among them, 180 

4. We have no means of supplying them with the 
Gospel, - - - 181 

5. There are peculiar and great difficulties to be over- 
come, 182 

6. Excuses sometimes urged by owners, - - - - 183 
(a) I am a Master, but no Christian, and am therefore 

excused from the duty, . - 184 



X. CONTENTS. 

[b) Althoufjh I hope I am a Christian, yet I am not 
qualified to instruct my servants. ----- 184 

(c) I live away from my people, 185 

{d) The management and religious instruction of 

servants cannot be united in one person, - - 186 

(e) When I instruct my people they presume upon it, 188 

7. Excuses sometimes urged by Ministers. - - - - 169 
(a) I am not able to make myself understood by the 

Negroes. I have no turn for preaching to them, 169 
(t) My church allows me no time to preach to the 

Negroes. I am willing to do so, if I could, - - 190 

III. Objections to the Religious Instruction of the 
Negroes in the Slave Slates, - 192 

1. If we suffer our Negroes to be instructed the tend- 
ency will be to change the civil relations of society 

as now constituted, 193 

2. The way will be opened for men from abroad to 
enter in and inculcate doctrines subversive of our 
interests and safety, 195 

3. The religious instruction of the Negroes will lead 

to neglect of duty and insubordination, - - - - 197 

4. The Negroes will embrace seasons of religious 
worship for originating and executing plans of insub- 
ordination and villany, 201 

5. . Religious instruction will do no good ; it will only 
make the Negroes worse men and worse hypocrites, 203 

IV. Benefits which would flow f;om the faitliful 
Religious Instruction of the Negroes,* - - - 206 

1. There would be a better understanding of the rela- 
tions of Master and Servant, and of their reciprocal 
duties, - - 206 

2. The pecuniary interests of Masters would be 
increased, -.-- 208 

3. Religious instruction would contribute to safety, 210 

4. Would promote onr own morality and religion, - 216 



CONTENTS. XI. 

5. Much unpleasant discipline would be saved the 
churches, 217 

6. The souls of our servants would be saved. Con- 
clusion to Part III, 218 



PART IV. 

Means and Plans for promoting and securing 
THE Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the 
United States. 

I. The Chuichof Christ must be made familiar with 

the duty, and moved to its performance, - - - 221 

1. No necessity for formation of extensive associations 

and societies for the work, 221 

2. Churches in their respective organized forms com- 
petent to the work, 222 

3. Duty should be brought before Bishops, Elders, and 
Deacons, and introduced by them into their respec- 
tive Churches and Church Judicatories, and manner 

of doing so, 222 

4. Essays, reports, sermons, and tracts should be print- 
ed and circulated on the subject, - - - - - 225 

II. Ways and Means of imparting Religious In- 
struction to the Negroes, 226 

1. The Gospel should be communicated to the entire 
Negro population ; statedly, frequently, intelligibly, 

and in its fulness, 226 

2. Persons by whom it shall be so communicated. 

(a) In the first place, by Bishops of Churches both in 

the Free and Slave States, 227 

Particularly by Bishops in the Slave States, for 
1. They are settled over entire households — Mas- 
ters and Servants, 227 



XII, CONTENTS. 

2. They should, therefore, devote a portion of each 
Sabbath to regular preaching to the Negroes. 228 

3. Lecture if possible, and attend plantation meet- 
ings during the week, 228 

4. Should have regular Sabbath Schools for chil- 
dren and adults. Their benefit, 229 

5. Stated seasons for meeting with colored mem- 
bers ; and with colored children for their cate- 
chetical instruction, 230 

6. Attend Funerals, - - - 232 

7. Perform Marriage Ceremonies, . - - - - 232 

8. Attend with their Sessions punctually and dil- 
ligently to the discipline of colored members, and 
appoint committees of Instruction for Inquirers, 233 

9. Endeavor to awaken Church Members, Masters 
and Mistresses to the duty of affording suitable 
Instruction to their Negroes, 234 

(6) In the secmd place, the Gospel must be communi- 
cated by Ministers ,of the Gospel, employed as 
Missionaries to the Negroes. 

1. Missionaries absolutely needed, ----- 235 

2. Should be Southern men, ------- 235 

3. But how shall they be employed and supported? 235 
By Domestic Missionary Societies, - - . . 237 
By Presbyteries, Associations, Conferences and 

Conventions, 237 

By one or more Churches uniting their contribu- 
tions, ..... 238 

By one or more Planters doing the same, - - 238 
(c) In the third place, we are to look to owners 
themselves to communicate the Gospel to the 
Negroes, 239 

1. The owner should impress upon his people the 
great duty of attending public worship on the 
Sabbath, - - 240 

2. Make all the rliiJdrcn and youth attend punctu- 
ally tlie Sabbath School, 240 



CONTENTS. Xlll. 

3. The plantation should be brought under religious 
influences and the physical condition of the 
People improved, 240 

4. The owner should undertake the instruction of 
the people himself. Way and manner of his 
doing so, - 244 

{d) In the fourth place, we are to look to Elders and 
Laymen to assist in this good work, - - - - 248 
Our main dependence, in conclusion, must be upon 
settled pastors & stated supplies of our Churches 249 

III. The Manner in which the Gospel should be 
comnaunicated to the Negroes, so as to meet the 
character, condition, and circumstances of the 
People, 250 

1. Manner of Preaching - -- 250 

(a) What kind of Ministers are needed ? Not igno- 
rant, but educated and intelligent Ministers, - 250 

(b) The Minister tu the Negroes should pay attention 

to his general deportment among tnem, - - - 254 

(c) To his manner in preaching, ------ 255 

{d) To the style and character of his sermons. 

What kind of sermons are most suitable, - - 256 

(e) He should see that the strictest order is observed 

in all his religious meetings, ------ 252 

(f) And mark the deportment of the people, - - 252 

2. Manner of conducting Sabbath Schools. Manuals 

and Plans of instruction, - 2.52 

3. Manner of conducting Plantation Meetings, - - 267 

4. Manner of treating opposition to the work of Re- 
ligious Instruction of the Negroes, ----- 269 

5. Manner of speaking and acting in relation to the 
Civil Condition of the Negroes, 270' 

6. The best form of Church Organization for the 
Negroes, 273 

7. Conclusion, • ---j---.-*. 27^ 



PART I . 

Historical Sketch of the Religious Instruction of the 
Negroes from their first introduction into the Country 
in 1620 to the year 1842. 



CHAPTER I. 



The First Period— From their first Introduction, in 1620, to the 
first Census, in 1790 : a period of 170 years. 

Such is the scarcity of materials, and the difficulty of 
arriving at the scattered sources of information, that I 
have called the following Historical Notice of the 
Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United 
States, "A Sketch." It deserves no better name, 
allhougTi, perhaps, it may embody the principal facts on 
the subject. 

For the sake of perspicuity, the Sketch is divided 

into Periods of Time — the First Period, extending 

from the Introduction of the Negroes into the Country, 

in 1620, to the first Census, in 1790; a period of 170 

years : the Second Period, from 1790 to 1820 ; a period 

flf 30 years : and the Third Period, from 1820 to 1842', 

*a period of S3 years. 
1 



S RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF TIIE WEGROES. 

1. Account of the Introduction of Negroes into the 
the Colonies under the Government of Great Britain. 

It was in the year 1501 that Isabella of Spain granted 
permission for the introduction of Negro slaves into 
Hispaniola; but such only as had been born in Spain, 
or in slavery among Christians; and in the following 
year a few had been sent into the New World. 

In 1508 the Spaniards opened a direct trade in slaves, 
and imported Negroes into Hispaniola from the Portu- 
gese settlements on the Coast of Guinea. Ferdinand 
v., by royal ordinance, enjoined a direct traffic in slaves 
between Guinea and Hispaniola, in 1511, and Charles 
v., in 1512-13. 

In 1517 Charles V, granted a patent to one of his 
Flemish favorites, containing an exclusive right of im- 
porting slaves, four thousand annually, into Hispaniola, 
Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. This favorite sold 
his patent to some Genoese merchants for 25,000 ducats^ 
and they were the first who brought into regular form that 
commerce for slaves between Africa and America, which 
has since been carried on under such revolting circum- 
stances and to such an amazing extent. 
/Forty-five years after, in 1562-3, theFnglish entered 
the trade under Sir John Hawkins and carried Negroes 
from Africa to Hispaniola, and in 1567 Queen Elizabeth 
protected and shaied the traffic. Thus the Mother Coun- 
try was engaged in the traffic forty-five years hefoxe the 
first permanent settlement was made in her American 
Colonies, which was at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. 

The Dutch, in common with other maritime nations 
of Europe, engaged in the trade, and a man-of-war of 
that nation, from the Coast of Guinea, in August, 1620, 
(four months before the Plymouth Colony arrived in 
America,) landed twenty Negroes for sale, in the Colony 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 3 

of Virginia, on James river, which (letennincs the epoch 
of their introduction into the Colonies. From this 
period they were gradually, and at different times, intro- 
duced into all the Colonies from Massachusetts to Geor- 
gia ; and for the most part, contrary to the wishes of 
the Colonists. 

The first cargo of Negro slaves was brought into 
Boston in 1645, and though their introduction was 
denounced and the Negroes ordered to be "returned at 
public charge ;" yet it was afterwards permitted, and 
people engaged in the trade. 

In Maryland acts were passed encouraging the impor- 
tation of Negroes, in 1671 ; and in this same year they 
were first introduced into South Carolina. They were 
legally admitted into Georgia in 1747. The precise 
year of their admission into the remaining eight of the 
old thirteen Colonies is not accurately known. 

2. Estimated Negro Population of the Colonies at 
the Declaration of Independence ; and CeJisus of 1790. 

I have no references at hand by v.'hich to determine 
tlie number of Negroes in each of the Colonies, nor the 
aggregate in all, before the Declaration of Independence, 
as no general census was ever taken of the Colonies 
while they continued such. But there are statements of 
the number in most of the Colonies, given in different 
years, which I shall proceed to mention. 

Virginia was settled in 1607, and in 1671 contained 
2,000 Negroes; in 1763, 100,000. 

Massachusetts was settled in 1620, and in 1763 con- 
tained 4,500. 

Rhode Island was settled in 1636. In 1680 had 
imported but a few Negroes, in 1730 contained 1,648, 
«nd in 1748, 4,373. 



4 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Connecticut was settled in 1635. la 1G80 had 30 
Negroes, and in 1774, G,464. 

Neio Hampshire was settled from Massachusetts and 
became a separate Colony in 1741, and in 1775 contained 
659 Negroes. 

New York was settled by the Dutch in 1613. In 
1756 contained 13,542. 

New Jersey was settled 1627. In 1738 contained 
3,981 Negroes and slaves, and in 1745, 4,606. 

Maryland was granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632. - 
In 1755 contained 42,764 Negroes, and for a time, 2,000 
were imported annually. Mr. Burke says, in 1757 the 
number was upwards of 60,000. 

North Carolina was permanently settled in 1650, 
and became distinct from Virginia in 1727. In 1701 it 
had 5,000 inhabitants, besides Negroes and Indians, and 
in 1702, 6,000. 

South Carolina was granted to Lord Clarendon in 
1662. In 1723 contained 18,000 Negroes ; in 1724, 439 
were imported ; in 1730 contained 28,000; in 1731 1,500 
were imported. In 1765 contained 90,000 ; in 1773 over 
6,000 were imported. This Colony lost 25,000 Negroes 
in the Revolutionary war. 

Georgia was settled in 1732-3. Slaveiy was legalized 
in 1747, and in 1772 contained 14,000 Negroes. 

The probable number of Negroes in the Colonies at 
the Declaration of Independence in 1776, may be ascer- 
tained in the following manner. Take the known popu- 
lation in the different Colonies nearest the year 1776 ? 
compare that with the census of 1790; take into con- 
sideration the rate of increase from nature an<l from' 
importation, and also the decrease ; and then give the 
supposed po])ulation in round numbers. 

Massachusetts. — Last return in 1763 to 1776, 13 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 5> 

years, the population decreasing ; supposed 
population in 1776. 3,500' 

Rhode Isla7id.— 17'i8 to 1776, 28 years, 
stationary 4,373 

Connecticut. — 1774 to 1776, 2 years, de- 
creasing 6,000' 

New Hampshire. — 1775 to 1776, 1 year, 
stationary 659 

New York. — 1756 to 1776, 20 years in- 
creasing 15,000 

New Jersey. — 1745 to 1776,31 years in- 
creasing ; 7,600' 

Delaioarc. — Estimated in 1776 compared 
with 1790 9,000 

Pennsylvania. — Estimated in 1775 com- 
pared with 1790, the act of Abolition in 1780 
taken into the account 10,000 

In 1757, Mr. Burke says, "not the fortieth 
part of the inhabitants were Negroes," 

Maryland. — 1755 to 1776, 21 years, in- 
creasing 80,000^ 

Virginia — 1763 to 1776, 13 years, increas- 
ing 165,000 

North Carolina. — ^^ Estimated in same way 
as Delaware 75,000 

South Carolina. — 1765 to 1776, 11 years, 
increasing, and loss in Revolution considered. 110,000 

Georgia. — 1772 to 1776, 4 years, incieasing. 16,000 

Total, 502,132. 

Making a total, in round numbers, of 500,000 Negroes 
who had, in the course of 156 years, from 1620 to 1776, 
accumulated on our shores, by importation and natural 
increase. 

The proportion of free Negroes, in this estimate, at 
I* 



6 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

the Declaration of Independence, must have been incon- 
siderable ; as it was not until after the Revolution that 
manumissions by owners, and manumission? in the 
progress of acts of Abolition, multiplied. 

The Census of the United States for J 790, gives 
097,097 Slaves and 59,4S1 Free Persons of Color ; a 
total of 757,178. 

3. Efforts for their Religious Instruction, both in 
Great Britain and America, year by year, during this 
Period. 

Having brought distinctly to view thi^j multitude of 
people introduced amongst us in the inscrutable provi- 
dence of God, the original stock being in a state of 
absolute Heathenism, we may inquire into the efforts 
made for their Religious Instruction. 

1673. Mr. Baxter published his " Christian Direc- 
tory,^^ in which he has a chapter of "Directions to those 
Masters in Foreign Plantations who have Negroes and" 
other slaves; being a solution of several cases about 
them." 

The first Direction calls upon masters to "under- 
stand well how far your power over your slaves extendeth 
and what limits God hath set thereto." 

"Remember that they have immortal souls, and are 
equally capable of salvation with yourselves : and there- 
fore you have no power to do any thing which shall 
hinder their salvation. Remember that God is their 
absolute owner, and that you have none but a derived 
and limited propriety in them ; — that they and you are 
equally under the government and laws of God; — that 
God is their reconciled tender Father, and if they be 
as good, doth love them as well as you ; — and that they 
are the redeemed ones of Christ: — Therefore, so use 
them as to preserve Christ's right and interest in them."'' 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 7 

The 2d. Direction. — " Remember that you are Christ's 
trustees, or the guardians of their souls; and that the 
greater your power is over them, the greater your charge 
is of them and your duty for them. So must you exer- 
cise both your power and love to bring them to the 
knowledge and the faith of Christ, and to the just 
obedience of God's commands." 

The 3d. — " So serve your necessities by your slaves 
as to prefer God's interest and their s])iritual and ever- 
lasting happiness. Teach them the way to heaven, and 
do all for their souls which 1 have before directed you to 
do for all your other servants. Tho' you may make some 
difference in their labor and diet and clothing, yet none 
as to the furthering of their salvation. If they be infi- 
dels use them so as tendeth to win them to Christ and 
the love of religion, by shewing them that Christians 
are less worldly, less cruel and passionate, and more 
wise and charitable and holy and meek, than any other 
persons are. Wo- to them that by their cruelty and 
covetousness do scandalize even slaves and hinder their 
conversion and salvation." 

The 1th and last Direction — "Make it your chief 
end in buying and using slaves to win them to Christ 
and save their souls. Do not only endeavor it on the by 
when you have first consulted your own commodity, 
but make tliis more of your end than your commodity 
itself; and let their salvation be far more valued by you 
than their service; and carry yourself to them as those 
that are sensible that they are redeemed with them by 
Christ from the slavery of Satan and may live with them 
in the liberty of the saints in glory." 

The works of this eminent servant of God had an 
extensive circulation, and these Directions may have 
been productive of much good on the Plantations of 
those owners into whose hands they folk 



8 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

1680. Forty-four years after the settlement of Con- 
necticut, the Assembly forwarded answers to the Inqui- 
ries of the Lords of the Committee of Colonies, wherein 
ihey say : " There are but few servants and iewcr slaves; 
not above 30 in the colony. There come sometimes 
three or four blacks from the Barbadoes, which are sold 
for 22Z each. Great care is taken of the insliuction 
of the people in the Christian religion, by ministers 
catechising and preaching twice every Sabbath and 
sometimes on lecture days ; and also by mtisters of 
families instructing their children and servants, which 
the law commands them to do." 

1701. " The Society for the Propagation of Jhe 
Gospel in Foreign Parts,'" was incorporated imder 
"William III. on the 16lh day of of June 1701, and the 
first meeting of the society under its charter was the 
27th of June of the same year. Thomas Lord Bishop 
of Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan of all Eng- 
land was appointed by his Majesty the first President, 

This society was formed with the view,\iormc!r?7y, 
of supplying the destitution of religious institutions and 
privileges among the inhabitants of the North American 
Colonies, members of the established church of Eng- 
land ; and secondarily, of extending the Gospel to the 
Indians and Negroes. 

It had been preceded by a company incorporated bv 
Charles II. in 1661, for " the Propagation uf the Gospel 
amongst Heathen Nations of New England and the 
parts adjacent in America ;" which, however, did 
not accomplish much ; the design, for the times then 
present and the necessities of the Colonies, being too 
narrow. The Honorable Robert Boyle, was first Presi- 
dent of this company, and it was his connection Avith 
tills society which led him to a doeper interest in tlie 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 9 

defence and propagation of the Christian religion, and 
he therefore left in his will an annual salary, forever, for 
the support of eight sermons in the year, for proving' 
the Christian religion against notorious Infidels ; and he 
requires that the preachers employed, "shall be assist- 
ing to all companies and encouraging them in any 
undertaking for propagating the Christian religion in 
Foreign Parts." 

The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts entered upon its duties with zeal, being 
patronized by the King and all the dignitaries of the 
Church of England. 

They instituted inquiries into the religious condition 
of the Colonies, responded to *■' by the Governors and 
persons of the best note ;" (with special reference to 
Episcopacy,) and they perceived that their work " con- 
sisted of three great branches : tke care and instruction 
of our pcnple settled in the Colonies ; the conversion 
of the Indian Savages; and the conversion of the 
Negroes.'''' Before appointing Missionaries, they sent 
out a traveling preacher, the Rev. George Keith, (an 
itinerant missionary,) who associated with himself the 
Rev. John Talbot. Mr. Keith preached between North 
Carolina and Piscataquay river in New England, a tract 
above 800 miles in length, and completed his mission in 
two years, and returned and reported his labors to the 
society. 

The annual meetings of this society were regularly 
held from 1702 to J8I9 and 118 sermons preached 
before it by Bishops of the Church of England, a large 
number of them distinguished for piety, learning, and 
zeal. The society still exists. • 

The efforts of the society /or the Religious InstruC' 
tion of the Negroes, are briefly as follows. 



10 RELIGIOUS INSTllUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

In June 1702 the Rev. Samuel Tliomas, the first 
missionary, was sent to the Colony of South Carolina. 
The society designed he should attempt the conversion 
of the Yammosee Indians ; but the Governor, Sir 
Nathaniel Johnson, appointed him to the care of the 
people settled on the three branches of Cooper river, 
making Goose creek his residence. He reported his 
labors to the society, and said " that he had taken much 
pains also in instructing the Negroes, and learned 20 of 
them to read. He died in October 1706. 

Dr. LeJeau succeeded him in 1 706, and found " parents 
and masters indued with much good will and a ready 
disposition to have their children and servants taught the 
Christian religion." " He instructed and baptised many 
Negroes and Indian slaves." His communicants in 1714 
arose to 70 English and 8 Negroes. Dr. LeJeau died 
in 1717, and was succeeded permanently by Rev. Mr. 
Ludlam, who began his mission with gieat dilligence. 
" There were in his parish a large number of Negroes, 
natives of the place, who understood English well; he 
took good pains to instruct several of them in the piin- 
ciples of the Christian religion and afterwards admitted 
them to baptism. He said if the masters of them would 
heartily concur to forward so good a work, all those who 
have been born in the country might without mucli difh- 
culty be instructed and received into the church. Mr. 
Ludlam continued his labors among the Negroes and 
every year taught and baptised several of them ; in one 
year eleven, besides some mvlattoes.'''' 

The Indian war checked the progress of the society's 
missions for several years. The Parishes of St. Paul's, 
(1705,) St. John's, (1707,) St. Andrew's and St. Barthol- 
omew's, (1713,) St. Helen's, (1712,) received missiona- 
ries. Mr. Hasell was settled in the last named parish, 



HI9T01UCAL SKETCH. 1 { 

and ihe inhabitants were "565 whites, 950 Negroes, 60 
Indian slaves, and 20 free Negroes." 

Rev. Gilbert Jones was appointed missionary of 
Christ Church Parish, 1711. He used great pains to 
persuade the masters and mistresses to assist in having 
their slaves instructed in the Christian faith ; but found 
this good work lay under difficulties as yet insuperable. 
He wrote thus concerning this matter: "Though labor- 
ing in vain be very discouraging, yet (by the help of 
God,) I will not cease my labors; and if I shall gain but 
one proselyte, shall not think much of all my pains." 
He was succeded in 1722 by Rev. Mr. Pownal. Two 
years after he reported in his parish 470 free born, and 
" above 700 slaves, some of which understand the Eng- 
lish tongue ; but very few know any thing of God oi 
religion." 

In the parish of St. George, taken out of St, Andrew's, 
the church stands 28 miles from Charleston, (1719,) Mr, 
Peter Tuslian was sent missionary, but soon removed to 
Maryland. The Rev. Mr. Varnod succeeded him in 
1723. A year after his arrival, at Christmas, he had 
near 50 communicants, and what was remarkable, 17 
Negroes. 

He baptised several grown persons, besides children 
and Negroes, belonging to Alexander Skeene, Esquire. 
The Rev. Mr. Taylor, missionary at St, Andrew's parish 
in South Carolina, reported to the society " the great 
interest taken in the religious instruction of their Negroes 
by Mrs. Haige and Mrs. Edwards, and their remarka- 
ble success; 14 of whom on examination he baptised." 
The clergy of South Carolina, in a joint letter, acquaint^ 
ed the society with the fact " that Mr. Skeene, his lady, 
and Mrs. Haige, his sister, did use great care to have 
their Negroes instructed and baptised." And the Rev. 



1'2 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Mr. Varnod, missionary, had baptised 8 Negro children 
belongino; to Mr. Skeene and Mrs. liaise, and he writes 
to the society that " at once he had 19 Negro commu- 
nicants." 

Mr. Neuman was sent as a missionary to North Caro- 
lina in 1722. He reported some time after " that he had 
baptised 269 chihlren, 1 woman, and 3 men, and 2 
Negroes, who could say the creed, the Lord's prayer, 
and ten commandments, and had good sureties for their 
further information." 

The Rev. Mr. Beekett, missionary in Pennsylvania, 
in 172.3, reported that he had baptised "two Negro 
slaves." 

In 1709 Mr. Huddlestone was appointed school master 
in New York City. He taught 40 poor children out of 
the societies funds, and publicly catechised in the steeple 
of Trinity Church every Sunday in the afternoon, " not 
only his own scholars, but also the children, servants, 
and slaves of the inhabitants, and above 100 persons 
usually attended him." 

The society established, also, a catechising school 
in New York city in 1704, in which city there were 
computed to be about 1,500 Negro and Indian slaves. 
The society hoped their example would be generally 
followed in the Colonics. Mr. Elias Neau, a French 
protestant was appointed catechist; who was very zeal- 
lous in his duty and many Negroes were instructed and 
baptised. In 1712 the Negroes in New York conspired 
to destroy all ihe English, which greatly discouraged 
the work of their instruction. The conspiracy was 
defeated, and many negroes taken and executed. Mr. 
Neau's school was blamed as the main occasion of tlie 
barbarous plot; two of Mr. Neau's school were charged 
with the plot ; one was cleared and the other was proved 



HISTORICAL SKETCH, 13 

to have been in the conspiracy, but guiltless of his 
master's ma;(ler. " Upon full trial the guilty Negroes 
were found to be such as never came to Mr. Neau's 
school; and what is very observable, the persons whose 
Negroes were found most guilty were such as were the 
declared opposers of making them Christians." In a 
short time the cry against the instruction of the Negroes 
subsided : the Governor visited and recommended the 
school. Mr. Neau died in 1722, much rogretlfd by all 
who knew his labors. He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. 
"Wetmore, who afterwards was appointed missionary to 
Rye ill New York. After his removal "the rector, church 
wardens, and vestry of Trinity Church, in New York 
City," requested another calechist, "there being about 
1,400 Negro and Indian slaves, a considerable number 
of them had been instructed in the principles of Chris- 
tianity by tiie lata Mr. Neau, and had received baptism 
and were communicants in their church. The society 
complied with this request and sent over Rev. Mr. 
Colgan in 1720, who conducted the school w iih success," 

Mr. Hoiieyman, missi^inary in 1724, in Providence, 
Rhode Island, had baptized, in two year.-;, 80 persons, 
of which 19 were grown, 3 Negroes, and 2 Indians, and 
2Mulattoes. 

In Naragansctt, the congregation was reported to be 
160, (1720) with 12 Indian and black servants. 

At Marble head, the missionary reported (1725) having 
baptized 2 Negroes; " a man about 25 years old and a 
girl 12, and that a whole family in Salem had conformed 
to the chtuch." 

The society looked upon the instruction and conver- 
sion of the Negroes as a principal branch of their care; 
esteeming it a great reproach to the Christian name, 
2 



14 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

that SO many thouscinds of persons should continue in 
the same state of Pagan darkness under a Christian 
government and living in Christian Aimilics, as they jay 
before under in their own heathen countries. The 
society immediately from their lirst institution strove to 
promote their conversion, and in as much as their income 
would not enable them to send numbers of catechists 
sufficient to instruct the .Negroes; yet they resolved to 
do their utmost, and at least to give this work the mark 
of their highest approbation. They wrote, therefore, to 
all their missionaries, that they should use their best 
endeavors', at proper times, to instruct the Negroes, and 
should especially take occasion to recommend it zealously 
to the masters to order tlieir slaves at convenient times, 
to come to them that they might be instructed. These 
directions had a good effect, and some hundreds of 
Negroes had been inslriicted, received baptisni, and been 
admitted to the communion, and lived very orderly 
lives." 

The. History of the Society goes on to say: "It is a 
matter of commendalimi to the clergy that they have 
done thus much in so great and difficult a work. But, 
alas ! what is the insiruction of a few hundreds in several 
years, with respect to the many thousands uninstructed, 
unconverted; living, dying, utter pagans! It must be 
confessed, what hath bet n done is as nothing with regard 
to what a true Christian would hope to' see effected.'* 
After slating several dilRcullies in respect to the religious 
instruction of the Negroes, (which do not exist at tho 
present time, but in a very limited degree,) it is said: 
"But the greatest obstruction is the masters themselves 
do not consider enough the obligation which lies upon 
them to have their slaves instructed." And in another 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 15 

place, " the society have always been sensible the most 
effectual way to convert the Negroes was by engaging 
their masters to countenance and promote theii conver- 
sion." The Bishop of St. Asaph, Dr. Fheetwood, preached 
a sermon before the society in the year 171 1, setting 
forth the duty of instructing the Negroes in the Christian 
religion. The society thouijht this so useful a discourse 
that they printed and dispersed abroad in the Plantations 
great nuiidiers of that sermon, in the same year; and in 
the year 1725, reprinted the same and dispersed again 
large numbers. The Bishop of London, Dr. Gibson, (to 
whom the care of the PIrintations al)r()ad,as to religious 
affairs, was committed,) became a second advocate for 
the conversion of the Negroes, and wrote two letters on 
this subject. The first in 1727, "ad(h-essed to masters 
and mistresses of families, in the English Plantations 
abroad, exhorting them to encourage and promote the 
instruction (»f their Negroes in the ( hristian faith. The 
second, in the same year, achlressed to the missionaries 
there ; directing theiVi to distril)ute the said letter, and 
exhorting them to give their assistance towards the 
instruction of the Negroes within their several parishes."' 
The society were persua<le(l this was the true method 
to remove the great obstruction to their conversion, and 
hopinif so particular an application to the masters and 
rnistresses from the See of London would have the 
strongest influetice, they printed 10,000 copies of the 
letter to masters and mistresses, which were sent to all 
the Colonies on the continent, and to all the British 
Islands in the West Indies, to be distributed among the 
masters of families, and all other inhabitants. The 
Bociety received accounts that these letters influenced 
Dwny masters of families to have their servants 



16 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

instructed. The Bishop of London soon after wrote 
"an address to serious Christians among ourselves, to 
assist the Society for Propagating the Gospel in carrying 
on this work." 

The letters of Dr. Gibson referred to, for their intrinsic 

excellence, and as an indication of the stale of feeling on 

the siihject, at the lime they were written, render it 

proper that they should be inserted in this Sketch. I 

have not been able to obtain a copy of Dr. Fleetwood's 

sermon. , 

" The Bishop of London's Letter to the Masters and 

Mistresses of Families in the English Plantations 

abroad; exhorting them to encourage and promote 

the Instrvction of their Negroes in the Christian 

Faith. Lo'.don, 1727. 

The care of the Plantations abroad beinjj committed 
to the Bishop of London, as to religious afliiirs, I have 
thought it my duty to make particular inquiries into the 
state of religion in those parts; and to learn, among 
other things, what number of slaves ^re employed 
within the several governments, and what means are 
used for their instruction in the Christian faith. I find 
the ntimbers are prodijiiously great; and am not a little 
troubled to observe how small a progress has been made 
in a Christian country towards the delivering those poor 
creatures from the pagan darkness and supeistilion in 
which they were bred, and the making them partakers 
of the light of the Gospel, and of the blessings and 
benefits belonging to it. And, which is yet more to be 
lamented, I find there has not only been very little 
progress made in the work, but tbal all attempts towards 
it, have been by too many industriously discouraged and 
hindered; partly by magnifying the difficultici. of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 17 

work beyond what they really are ; and partly by 
mistaken suggestions of the change which baptism would 
make in the condition of the Negroes, to the loss and 
disadvantage of their masters. 

I. As to the Difficulties : it may be pleaded that the 
Negroes are grown persons when they come over, and 
that having been accustomed to the pagan rites and 
idolatries of their own country, they are prejudiced 
against all other religions, and more particularly against 
the Christian, as forbidding all that licentiousness which 
is usually practised among the heathens. 

But if this were a good argument against attempting 
the conversion of Negroes, it would follow that the 
Gospel is never further to be propagated than it is at 
present, and that no endeavors are to be used for the 
conversion of heathens at any time, or in any country, 
whatsoever : because all heathens have been accustomed 
to pagan rites and idolatries, and to such vicious and 
licentious living as the Christian religion forbids. But 
yet, God be thanked, heathens have been converted and 
Christianity propagated in all ages, and almost all coun- 
tries, through the zeal and diligence of pious and good 
men; and this without the help of miracles. And if the 
present age be as zealous and diligent in pursuing the 
proper means of conversion, we have no reason to 
doubt, but that the divine assistance is, and will be, the 
same in all ages. 

But a further difficulty is, that they are utter strangers 
to our language and we to theirs : and the gift of 
tongues being now ceased, there is no means left of 
instructing them in the doctrines of the Christian religion. 
And this, I own, is a real difficulty, as long as it con- 
tinues, and as far as it reaches. But if I am rightly 
2* 



18 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

informed, many of the Negroes who are grown persons 
when they come over, do of themselves attain so much 
of our language as enables ihem to understand and to 
be understood, in things which concern the ordinary 
business of life; and they who can go so far, of their 
own accord, might doubtless be carried much further, if 
proper methods and endeavors were used to bring thera 
to a complete knowledge of our language, with a pious 
view to the instructing them in the doctrines of our 
religion. At least some of them, who are more ca})able 
and more serious than the rest, might be easily instructed 
both in our language and religion, and then be made use 
of to convey instruction to the rest in iheir own language. 
And this, one would hope, may be done with great ease, 
wherever there is a hearty and sincere zeal for the work. 

But whatever difficulties there may be in instructing 
those who are grown up before they are brought ovei, 
there are not the like difficulties in the case of their 
children, .who are born and bred in our own Plantations, 
who have never been accustomed to pagan riles and 
superstitions, and who may easily be trained up, like all 
other children, to any language whatsoever, and particu- 
larly to our own ; if the making them good Christians 
be sincerely the desire and intention of those who have 
the property in them and the government over them. 

But supposing the difficulties to be much greater than 
I imagine, they are not such as render the work impose 
sihle, so as to leave no hope of any degree of success ; 
and nothing less than an impossihilitxj of doing any good 
at all, can warrant our giving over and laying aside all 
means and endeavors, where the propagation of the Gos- 
pel and the saving of souls are immediately concerned. 

Many undertakings look far more impracticable before 



HISTORICAL SKETCH, 19 

trial, than they are afterwards found to be in experience ; 
especially wiiere there is not a good heart to go about 
them. And it is frequently observed that small beginnings, 
when pursued with resolution, are attended with great 
and surprising success. But in no case is the success 
more great and surprising than when good men engage 
in the cause of God and religion, out of a just sense of 
the inestimable value of a soni, and in full and well 
grounded assurance that their honest designs and endea- 
vors for the promoting religion, will be supported by a 
special blessing from God. 

I am loth to think so hardly of any Christian master, 
as to suppose that he can deliberately hinder his Negroes 
from being instructed in the Christian faith; or which is 
the same thing, that he can, upon sober and mature 
consideration of the case, finally resolve to deny them 
the means and opportunities of instruction. Much less 
may I believe that he can, after he has seriously weighed 
this matter, permit them to labor on the Lord's day ; 
and least of all, that he can put them under a kind of 
necessity of laboring on that day, to provide themselves 
■with the conveniences of life; since our religion so 
plainly teaches us that God has given one day in seven, 
to be a day of rest ; not only to man, but to the beasts. 
That it is a day appointed by him for the improvement 
of the soul, as well as the refreshment of the body ; and 
that it is a duty incumbent upon masters, to take care 
that all persons who are under their government, keep 
this day holy, and emj)loy it to the pious and wise pur- 
poses for which God, — our great Lord and Master — 
intended it. Nor can I think so hardly of any mission- 
ary, who shall be desired by the master t(» direct and 
assist in the instruction of his Negroes, (either on that 



20 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

day or on any other, when he shall be niore at leisure,) 
as lo suppose that he will not embrace such invitations 
with the utmost readiness and cheerfulness, and give all 
the help that is fairly consistent with the necessary 
duties of his function, as a parochial minister. 

If it be said that no time can be spared from tlie daily 
labor and employment of the Ne;^roes, to instruct them 
in the Christian religion ; this is in eftect to say that no 
consideration of propagating the Gospel of God, or 
saving the souls of men, is to make the least abatement 
from the temporal profit of the masters; and that God 
cannot or will not make up the lillle they may lose in that 
way, bv blessing and prospering their undertakings by 
sea and land, as a just reward of their zeal for his glory 
and the salvation of men's souls. In this case, I may 
well reason as St. Paul does in a case not unlike it, that 
if they make you partakers of their temporal things, 
(of their strength and spirit?, and even of their offspring,) 
you ought to make them partakers of your spiritual 
things, though it should abate somewhat from the profit 
which you might otherwise receive from their labors. 
And considering tlie greatness of the profit that is 
received from their labors, it niiglit be hoped that all 
Christian niasters, those especially who are possessed of 
considerable numbers, sliould also be at some small 
expense in providing for the instruction of these poor 
creatures, and that others, whose numbers arc less, and 
who dwell in the same neighborhood, should join in the 
expense of a common teacher for the Negroes belonging 
to them. The Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts, are sufliciently sensible of the great 
importance and necessity of such an established and 
regular provision for the inElruction of the Negroes, and 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 21 

earnestly wish and pray, that it may please God to put 
it into the hearts of good Christians, to enable them to 
assist in the work, by seasonable contributions for that 
end: but at present their fund does scarce enable them 
to answer the many demands of missionaries, for the 
performance of divine service in the poorer settlements, 
which are not in a condition to maintain them at their 
own charge. 

II. But it is further pleaded, that the instruction of 
heathens in the Christian (:ulh, is in order to their bap- 
tism : and that not only the iim^e to be allowed for 
instructing them, would be an abatement from the proilts 
of their labour, but also, that the baptizing them wi an 
instructed would destroy both the property which the 
masleis have in them as slaves bought with their money 
and the right of selling them again at pleasure, ".nd that 
the making them Christians, only makes them less 
diligent and more ungovernable. 

To which it may be very truly replied, that Christi- 
anity and the embracing of the Gospel does not make 
the least alteration in civil property, or in any of the 
duties which belong to civil relations ; but in all these 
respects, it continues persons just in the same state as it 
found them. The freedom which Christianity ijives is a 
freedom from the bondage of sin and satan, and from 
the dominion of men's lusts and passions and inordinate 
desires ; but as to their outward condition, whatever 
that was before, whether bond or free, their being bap- 
tized and becoming Christians, makes no manner of 
change in it. As St. Paul has expressly told ns, 1 Cor. 
7: 20, where he is speaking directly to this point, "Let 
every man abide in the same calling wherein he was 
called :" and at the 24th verse, "Let every man where- 



23 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

in he is called therein ahide with God " And so far i« 
Christianity from discharginir men from the duties of 
the station or condition in which it found them, that it 
lays them under stronger obligations to perform those 
duties with the greatest diligence and fidelity, not only 
from the fear of man hut from a sense t)f duty to God, 
and the belief and expectation of a future account. So 
that to say that ( hristianity tends to make men less ob- 
servant of their duty in any respect, is a reproach that il 
is veiy far from deserving: and a reproach that is con- 
futed by the xohoh tenor of the Gospi.-l precepts, which 
inculcate upon all, and particularly upon servants (many 
of whom were then in the condition of shives,) a faith- 
ful and dilitrent di^charwe of the duties belonjrina to their 
several stations out ol" conscience towards God. And it 
is nlso confuted by our own reason, which lelis us how 
much moie forcible and constant the restraint of con- 
science is, than the restraint of J ear ; and last of all, it 
is confuted by experience, whicli teaches us the great 
value <if those servants who are truly religious, com- 
pared with those who have no sense <if religion. 

As to their being more ungovernable after baptism 
than before, it is certain 'hat the Gospel e^ ery where 
enjoins not only diligence and fidelity, but also obedi- 
ence for conscience sake: and does not deprive masters 
of any proper methtxis of enforcing obedience, where 
they appear to be necessary. Humanity forbids all 
cruel and barbarous treatment of our fcllow-crealures, 
and will not suff'er us to consider a being that is 
endowed with reason on a level with brutes: and Chris- 
tianity takes not out of the hands of superiors any de- 
grees of strictness and severity that fairly appear to be 
necessary for the preserring subjection and government. 



HISTOKICAL SKETCH. 23 

The general law both of humanity and of Christianity, 
is kindness, gentleness and compassion towards all man- 
kind, of what nation or condition soever ihey be ; and 
therefore we are to make the exercise of those amiable 
virtues our choice and desire, and to have recourse to 
severe and vigorous methods unwillingly and only out 
of necessity. And of this necessity, you y«)urselves 
remain the judges, as much after they receive baptism as 
before ; so that you can be in no danger of siifJering by 
the change ; and as to them, the greatest hardships that 
the most severe master can inflict upon tht^m is not to 
be compared to the cruelty of keeping them in the state 
of heathenism and depriving them of the means of sal- 
vation as reached forth to all mankind in the Gospel of 
Christ. And in truth one great reason \^hy severity is 
at all necessary to maintain governmc nt, is the want of 
religion in those who are to be governed, and who there- 
fore arc not to be kept to their duly by any thing but 
fear and terror ; than which there cannot be a more 
uneasy state, either to those who govern or those who 
are governed. 

III. 'I'hal these things may make the greater impres- 
sion upon you, let me beseech you to consider your- 
selves not only as masteis, but as Christian masters, 
who stand obliged by your profession to do all that 
your station and condition enable you to do, towards 
breaking the power of salan and enlarging the kingdom 
of Christ, and as having a great opportunity put into 
your hands of helping on this work, by the influence 
which (iod has given you over such a number of hea- 
then idolaters, who still continue urtder the dominion of 
satan. In the next place let me beseech you to consider 
thevi not barely as slaves, and upon the same level with 



34 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

laboring beasts, but' as men-sVdves and women-s]aiveSy 
who have the saran frame and faculties with yourselves 
and have souls capable of being made eternally happy, 
and reason and understanding to receive instruction in 
order to it. If they came from abroad, let it not be said 
that they are as far from the knowledge of Christ in a 
Christian country as when they dwelt among pagan 
idolaters. If they have been born among you and 
have never breathed any air but that of a Christian 
country, let them not be as much strangers to Chript as 
if they had been transplanted, as soon as born, into a 
country of pagan idolaters. 

Hoping that these and the like considerations will 
move you to lay this matter seriously to heart, and 
excite you to use the best means in your power towards 
so good and pious a work ; I cannot omit to suggest to 
you one of the l)est motives that can be used for dispo- 
sing the heathens to embrace Christianity, and that is 
the good lives of Christians. Let them see in you and 
in your families, examples of sobriety, temperance and 
chastity, and of all the other virtues and graces of the 
Christian life. Let them observe how strictly you 
oblige yourselves and all that belong to you to abstain 
from cursing and swearing, and to keep the Lord's day 
and the ordinances which Christ liath appointed in the 
Gospel. Make them sensible, by lue general tenor of 
your behaviour and conversation, that your inward tem- 
per and dis^posilion is such as the Gospel requires, that 
is to say, nrild, gentle and merciful, and that as oft as 
you exercise vigor and severity, il is wholly owing to 
their idleness or obstinacy. 

By these means you will open their hearts to instruc- 
tion, and 2)r€parc them to receive the truths of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 25 

Gospel ; to which if you add a pious endeavor and 
concern to see them duly instructed, you may become 
the instrument of saving many souls, and will not only 
secure a blessing from God upon all your undertakings 
in this world, but entitle yourselves to that distinguishing 
reward in the next which will be given to all those who 
have been zealous in their endeavors to promote the 
salvation of men and enlarge the kingdom of Christ. 
And that you may be found in that number, at the great 
day of accounts, is the sincere desire and earnest prayer 
of your faithful friend. EDM. LONDON." 

3Iay 19, J 727. 

*' The Bishop of London^s Letter to the Missionaries 
in the English Plantations : exhorting them to give 
their assistance towards the Instruction of the 
Negroes of their several Parishes in the Christian 
Faith. 
Good Brother : 

Having understood by many letters from the Planta- 
tions, and by the accounts of persons who have come 
from thence, that very liille progress hath hitherto been 
made in the conversion of the Negroes to the Christian 
faith ; 1 have thought it proper for me to lay before the 
masters and mistresses the obligations they are under to 
promote and encourage that pious and necessary work. 
This 1 have done in a letter directed to them, of which 
you will receive several copies in order to be distributed 
to those who have Negroes in youV parish ; and I must 
entreat you, when you put the letter into their hands, to 
enforce the design of it by any arguments that you 
3 



B6 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

shall think proper to be used ; and also, to assure them 
of your own assistance in carrying on the work. 

I am aware that in the Plantations where the parishes 
are of so large extent, the care and labor of the parochial 
ministers must be great; but yet I persuade myself that 
many vacant hours may be spared from the other pasto- 
ral duties, to be bestowed on this; and I cannot doubt 
of ihe readiness of every missionary, in his own parish, 
to proiv.ote and further a work so charitable to the souls 
of men, and so agreeable to the great end and design of 
his mission. 

As to those ministers who have Negroes of their own, 
I cannot but esteem it their indispensable duty to use 
their best endeavors to instruct them in the Christian 
religion in order to their being baptized ; both because 
such Negroes are their proper and immediate care, and 
because it is in vain to hope that other masters and mis- 
tresses will exert themselves in this work, if they see it 
wholly neglected or but coldly pursued in the families 
of the clergy ; so that any degree of neglect on your 
part, in the instruction of your own Negroes, would not 
only be withholding from thcvi the inestimable bene- 
fits of Christianity, but would evidently tend to the 
obstructing and defeating the whole design in every 
other family. 

I would also hope that the school masters in the several 
parishes, part of whose business it is to instruct youth 
in the principles of Christianity, might contribute some- 
what towards the carrying on this work, by being ready 
to bestow upon it some of their leisure time; and 
especially upon the Lord's day, when both they and the 
Negroes are most at liberty, and the cleigy are taken 
up with the public duties of their function. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 27 

And though the assistance they give to this pious 
design, should not meet with any reward from men, yet 
their comfort may be that it is the work of God and 
will assuredly be rewarded by him ; and the less they 
are obliged to this on account of any reward they 
receive from men, the greater will their reward be from 
the hands of God. I must therefore entreat you to 
recommend it to them in my name, and to dispose them 
by all proper arguments and persuasions, to turn their 
thoughts seriously to it, and to be always ready to offer 
and lend their assistance at their leisure hours. 

And so, not doubting your ready and zealous concur- 
rence in promoting this important work and earnestly 
begging a blessing from God upon this and all your 
other pastoral labois, I remain, your affectionate friend 
and brother. EDM. LONDON." 

May 19, 1727. 

Dean Stanhope (of Canterbury) states in his sermon, 
1714, that success had attended the effltrts of the society, 
and speaks of " children, servants, and slaves cate- 
chised." 

Bishop Berkley was in the Colony of Rhode Island 
from 1728 till late in 1730, and he also preached a ser- 
mon before the society, February 18, 1731, in which he 
thus speaks of the Negroes: "the Negroes in the gov- 
ernment of Rhode Island, are about half as many more 
than the Indians, and both together scarce amount to 9, 
seventh part of the whole Colony. The religion of 
these people, as is natural to suppose, takes after that of 
their masters. Some few are baptized : several frequent 
the different assemblies ; and far the greater part, none 
«t ^1). 



28 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

An ancient antipathy to the Indians, whom, it seems, 
our first planters (therein as in certain other particulars, 
afTecting to imitate Jews rather than Christians) imagine 
they had a right to treat on the foot of Canaanites or 
Amalekites, together with an irrational contempt of the 
Blacks, as creatures of another species, who had no 
right to be instructed or admitted to the sacraments; 
have proved a main obstacle to the conversion of these 
poor people. To this may be added an erroneous notion 
that the being baptized is inconsistent with a state of 
slavery. To undeceive tliem in this particular, which 
had too much weight, it seemed a proper step, if the 
opinion of his Majesty's Attorney and Solicitor General 
could be procured. This opinion they charitably sent 
over, signed with their own hands : which was accord- 
ingly [)rinted in Rhode Island, and dispersed through 
the Plantations. I heartily wish it may produce the 
intended effect. It must be owned our reformed planters 
with respect to the natives and the slaves, might learrv 
from the Church of Rome ho.vv it is their interest and 
duty to behave. Both French and Spaniards, take care 
to instruct both them and iheir Negroes in the Popish 
religion, to the reproach of those who profess a better.'* 

From a "proposal to establish a college in Bermuda," 
first published in 1725, the Bishop remarks: "Now the 
clergy sent over to America have proved, too many of 
them, very meanly qualified, both in learning and morals, 
for the discharge of their office. And indeed, little can 
be expected from the example or instruction of those,, 
who quit their native country on no other motive than 
that they are not able to procure a livelihood in it, 
which is known to be often the case^ To this may be- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 29 

imputed the small care that hath been taken to convert 
the Negroes of our Plantations, who, to the infamy of 
England, and scandal of the world, continue heathen 
under Christian masters, and in Christian countries ; 
•which would never be if our planters were rightly 
instructed andjnade sensible that they disappointed their 
own baptism by denying it to those who belong to them : 
that it would be of advantage to their affairs to have 
slaves who should " obey in all things their masters 
according to the flesh, not 'with eye-service as men 
pleasers, but in singleness of heart, as fearing God :" 
that Gospel liberty consists with temporal servitude : 
and that their slaves would only become better slaves 
by being Christians." — [Berklei/s Works: copied by 
Rev. W. W. Eells.] 

In 1741, Archbishop Seeker, after enumerating other 
successes, adds : " in less than 40 years great multitudes 
on the whole, of Negroes and Indians, brought over to 
the Christian faith.'' 

Bishop Drummond, in 1754, notices the Negroes in 
his sermon before the society, and insists upon the duty 
and safety of giving them the Gospel. 

The amiable Porteus, 1783, v/hen Bishop of Chester, 
(afterwards Bishop of London,) took a lively interest in 
this work, and preached a sermon before the society in 
support of it which may be found in his works. 

In the year, 1783, and the following, soon after the 
separation of our Colonies from the Mother Country, 
the society's operations ceased, leaving in all the Colo- 
nies, 43 missionaries ; two of whom were in the Southern 
States, one in North, and one in Soutli Carolina. The 
afiectionate valediction of the society to them was issued 
3» 



30 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTIOM OF THE NEOROEa 

in 1785. Thus terminated the connection of this noble 
society with our country, which, from the foregoing 
notices of its efforts, must have accomplished a great 
deal for the religious instruction of the Negro population. 

Thus, it is perceived, that the Negroes were not for- 
gotten by the Church of Christ in England. Were 
they remembered by the Church of Christ in the Colo- 
nies themselves ? We have no record of missions or 
of missionary stations established by or in any of the 
Colonies, in behalf, exclusively, of the Negroes, up to 
the year 1738. 

1738. The Moravian or United Brethren were the 
first who formally attempted the establishment of Mis- 
sions, exclusively to the Negroes. 

A succinct account of their several efforts down to the 
year 1790, is given in the report of the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen, at Salem 
N. C, October 5th 1837; by Rev. J. Renatus Schmidt, 
and is as follows : 

"A hundred years have now elapsed since the 
Renewed Church of the Brethren first attempted to 
communicate the Gospel to the many thousand Negroes 
of our land. In 1737 Count Zinzendorf paid a visit to 
London, and formed an acquaintance with General Ogle- 
thorpe and the Trustees of Georgia, with whom he 
conferred on the subject of the mission to the Indians, 
which the Brethren had already established in that 
Colony, (in 1735.) Some of these gentlemen were 
associates under the will of Dr. Bray, who had left funds 
to be devoted to the conversion of the Negro slaves in 
South Carolina; and they solicited the Count to procure 
them some missionaries for Ihis purpose. On his objecting 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 31 

that the Church of England might hesitate to recognize 
the ordination of the Brethren's missionaries, they 
referred the question to the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Dr. Potter, who gave it as his opinion, ' that the Breth- 
ren being members of an Episcopal Church whose doc- 
trines contained nothing repugnant to the Thirty-nine 
Articles, ought not to be denied free access to the 
heathen.' This declaration not only removed all hesi- 
tation from the minds of the trustees as to the present 
application; but opened the way for the labors of the 
Brethren amongst the slave population of the West 
Indies; — a great and blessed work, which has, by the 
gracious help of God, gone on increasing even to the 
present day. 

The same year Brother Peter Boehler was deputed to 
commence the desired mission, with Brother George 
Schulius as his assistant. They set out by way of 
London, in February 1738, and repaired, in the first 
instance, to Georgia, hoping to be provided with means 
for the prosecution of their journey by the colony of 
the Brethren already established there. Obstacles how- 
ever being interposed, through the interested views of 
certain individuals, this mission failed and our Breth- 
ren, settling at Purisburg, took charge of the Swiss 
Colonists and their children in that town; Georgia not 
being at that period a slave-holding Colony. In 1739, 
Schulius departed this life. Peter Boehler emigrated in 
1740, to Pet^nsylvania, with the whole Georgia Colony, 
of which he was minister ; because they were required 
to bear arms, in the war against the Spaniards, which 
had recently broken out. In 1747 and 1748 some 
Brethren belonging to Bethlehem, undertook several 



32 RELIGIOUS IN^THUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

long and difficult journies through Maryland, Virginia, 
and the borders of North Carolina, in order to preach 
the Gospel to the Negroes, who, generally speaking, 
received it with eajirerness. 

Various proprietors, however, avowing their determi- 
nation not to suffer strangers to instruct their Negroes, 
as they had their own ministers, whom they paid for 
that purpose, our brethren ceased from their eflbrts. It 
appears from the letters of brother Spangenbeig, who 
spent the greater part of the year 1749 at Philadelpliia, 
and preached the Gospel to the Negroes in that city, 
that the labours of the brethren amongst them were not 
entirely fruitless. Thus he writes in 1751 — 'on my 
arrival in Philadelphia, I saw numbers of Negroes still 
buried in all their native ignoianee and darkness, and 
my soul was grieved for them. Soon after some of 
them came to me, requesting instruction, at the same 
time acknowledging their ignorance in the most affect- 
ing manner. They begged that a weekly sermon might 
be delivered expressly for their benefit. I complied 
with their request and confined myself to the most essen- 
tial truths of scripture. Upwards of 70 Negroes attended 
on these occasions, several of whom were powerfully 
awakened appl ed for further instruction and expressed 
a desire to be united to Christ and his Church by the 
sacrament of Baptism which was accordingly adminis- 
tered to them.' 

At the Provincial Synod which was held in Penn- 
sylvania in 1747, brother Christian Frohlich was com- 
missioned to take charge of the Negroes of New-York, 
who had evinced a great desire for the gospel, and of 
whom several had been already won for the Redeemer, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 33 

by means of their attendance on the ministry of the 
word. In 1751 he visited the scattered Negroes in 
New- Jersey, by whom he was every where received 
Avith joy, and preached Christ crucified to a hundred of 
them at once with considerable effect, besides convers- 
ing with them at their work. 

A painting is preserved at Bethlehem in which the 
eighteen first-fruits from the heathen who had been 
brought to Christ by the instrumentality of the brethren* 
and had departed in the faith, prior to the year 1747, 
are represented, dressed in their native costume and 
standing before the throne of Christ with p^ms in their 
hands, with the inscription beneath : ' These are 
redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto 
God and to the Lamb.' — [Rev. 14: 4.) Amongst the 
number are Johannes, a Negro of South Carolina, and 
Jupiter, a Negro from New York. The graves of 
colored christians, who have died in the Lord, are also 
met with in several of our burial grounds in the North 
American congregations. 

At the request of Mr. Knox, the English Secretary of 
Slate, an attempt was made to evangelise the Negroes 
of Georgia. In 1774 the brethren, Lewis Muller, of the 
Academy at Njesky, and (ieorge Wagner, were called 
to North America, and in the year following, having 
been joined by brother Andrew Broesing of North Caro- 
lina, they took up their abode at Knoxborough, a Plan- 
tation so called from its proprietor, the gentleman abo^e 
mentioned. They were however almost constant suffer" 
ers from the fevers which prevailed in those parts, and 
Muller finished his course in the October of the same 
year. He had preached the Gospel with acceptance to 



34 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

both whites and blacks, yet without any abiding results. 
The two remaining brethren being called upon lo bear 
arms on the breaking out of the war of independence, 
Broesing repaired to Wachovia, in North Carolina, and 
Wagner set out in 1779 for England." 

In the great Northampton revival, under the preach- 
ing of Dr. Edwards in 17-^5 and 6, when for the space 
of five or six weeks together the conversions averaged 
at least "four a day:" Dr. Edwards remarks, "There 
are several Negroes who, from what was seen in them 
then and what is discernible in them since, appear to 
have been iruly born again in the late remarkable sea- 
son." 

At a meeting of the General Association of the Colony 
of Connecticut, 1738, "It was inquired — whether the 
infant slaves of Christian masters may be baptized in 
the right of their masters — they solemnly promising to 
train them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; 
and vvhether it is the duty of such masters to offer such 
children and thus religiously to promise. Both ques- 
tions were affirmatively answered." Records as re- 
ported by Rev. C. Chapin, D. D. 

Of the condition of the Negroes about this time in 
New England, it has been said, "Their lot was far from 
being severe. They were often bought by conscien- 
tious persons, for the purpose of bein^ well instructed 
in the Christian religion. They had universally the 
enjoyment of the Sabbath as a day of rest : or of devo- 
tion." 

Looking over the old record of "Entryes for Publica- 
tions" (i. e. for marriages) " within the town of Boston," 
I observed the following, among others ; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 36 

1707. Negro. — Essex, a Negro man of Mr, William 

Clarke, Esqre,; Gueno, a R. Wo. of Walle Winthrop, 

Esqre. 
Negro. Will, reg. serv't of Wm. Webster ; Betty, 

reg'r serv't of Wm. Keen, March 9tli. 
1710. Negroes. — Charles and Peggy, Negro serv'ts of 

Mr. James Barnes, July 19. 
Negro. — Jack, Negro serv't of Sam'l Bill ; Esther, 

Negro serv't of Robert Gutritlge, Oct'r 27. 

By which it would appear that the community was not 
indifferent to their condition in as mucli as their marria- 
ges were public and legalized. 

1747. Direct efforts foi the religious instruction of 
Negroes, continued through a series of years, were 
made by Presbyterians in Virginia. They com- 
menced with the Rev. Samuel Davies, afterwards Presi- 
dent of Nassau Hall, and the Rev. John Todd of Hano- 
ver Presbytery. 

Mr. Davies began his ministry in Hanover in 1747 
and left Virginia about 1773 or 4. Mr. Davies, four or 
five years after his settlement in Hanover, "found it 
impossible to afford even a monthly supply of preach- 
ing to the congregations organized by him. Accor- 
dingly he sought an assistant in Mr. John Todd, a 
young preacher from Pennsylvania, who was installed 
in the upper part t)f Hanover, November 12, 1752." 

In a letter addressed to a friend and member of the 
"Society in London for promoting Christian knowledge 
among the poor," in the year 1755, he thus expresses 
himself: " The poor neglected Negroes, who are so far 
from having m^ey to purchase books, that they them- 
selves are the properly of others 4 who were originally 



S6 RELIGIOUS INiTRUCTION OF THE NEOROKS. 

African savages, and never heard of the name of Jesus 
or his Gospel until they arrived at the land of their 
slavery in America : whom their masters generally 
negli'Ct, and whose souls none care for, as though 
immortality were not a privilege common to them, as 
with their masters; these poor unhappy Africans are 
objects of my compassion, and I tliink the most proper 
objects of the Society's charity. The inhabitants of 
Virginia are computed to be about 300,000 men, the 
one-half of which number are supposed to be Negroes. 
The number of those who attend my ministry at par- 
ticular times, is uncertain, but generally about 300, who 
give a stated attendance ; and never have I been so 
■struck with the appearance of an assembly, as when I 
have glanced my eye to that part of the meeting-house 
where they usually sit, adorned (for so it has a]ipeared 
to mc) with so many black countenances, eagerly atten- 
tive to every word they hear and frequently bathed in 
tears. A considerable number of them (about a hun- 
dred) have been baptised, after a proper time for instruc- 
tion, having given cedible evidence, not only of their 
acquaintance with the important doctrines of the Chris- 
tian religion, but also a deep sense of them in their 
minds, attested by a life of strict piety and holiness. 
As they are not sufficiently polished to dissemble with 
a good grace, they express the sentiments of their souls 
so much in the language of simple nature and wiih such 
genuine indications of sincerity, that it is impossible to 
suspect their professions, especially when attended with 
a truly Christian life and exemplary conduct. There 
are multitudes of them in difiereni pla^ps, who are wil- 
ling and eagerly desirous to be instructed and embrace 



mSTOKICAL SKETCH. 37 

every opportunity of acquainting themselves with the 
doctrines of the Gospel ; and though they have generally 
very little help to learn to read, yet to my agreea 
ble surprise, many of them, by dint of application in 
their leisure hours, have made such progress that they 
can intelligibly read a plain author, and especially their 
bibles ; and pity it is that any of them, should be with- 
out them." Mr. Davies furnished the Negroes with 
what books he could procure for them, an! requested a 
supply from the society of liibles and Watt's psalms and 
hymns. Having received a supply he distributed them 
to the great joy of the Negroes. "The books were all 
very acceptable, but none more so than the psalms and 
hymns, which enable them to gratify their peculiar taste 
for psalmody. Sundry of them have lodged all night 
in ray kitchen, and sometimes when I have awaked about 
two or three o'clock in the morning, a torrent of sacred 
harmony has poured into my chamber and carried 
my mind away to heaven. In this seraphic exercise 
some of them spend almost the whole night. I wish, 
Sir, you and other benefactors could hear some of these 
sacred concerts. I am persuaded it would surprise and 
please you more than an Oratorio or a St. Cecelia's day." 
He observes: "The Negroes, above all the human 
species that ever I knew, have an ear f(»r music and a 
kind of extatic delight in psalmody, and there are no 
books they learn so soon, or take so much pleasure in as 
those used in that heavenly part of divine worship." 

On one sacramental occasion "he had the pleasure of 
seeing 40 of them around the table of the Lord, all of 
whom made a credible profession of Christianity, and 
seveial of them gave unusual evidence of sincerity, and 
he believed that more than 1,000 Negroes attended on 
4 



38 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

his ministry at the different places where he alternately 
officiated. " 

Mr Davies writes Dr. Bellamy, in 1757, " what little 
success I have lately had, has been chiefly among the 
extremes of Gentlemen and Negroes. Indeed, God has 
been remarkably working among the latter. I have 
baptized about 150 adults; and at the last sicramental 
solemnity, I had the pleasure of seeing the table graced 
with about 60 black faces. They generally behave well 
as far as I can hear, though there are some instances of 
apostacy among them." The counties in which Mr. 
Davies labored were Hanover, Henrico, Goochland, 
Caroline, and Louisa. 

" The Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts," already noticed, in 1745 established a schixd in 
Charleston, S. C, under the direction of Commissary 
Garden It flourished greatly and seemed to answer 
their utmost wishes. It had at one time fiO scholars and 
sent forth annually about 20 young Negroes well in- 
structed in the English language and the Christian faith. 
This school was established in St. Phillip's church and 
some of its scholars were living in 1822, of orderly and 
decent characters. — Bp. Meade and Dr. Dalcho. 

The year 1747 was marked in the Colony of Georgia 
by the authorized introduction of slaves. Twenty three 
representatives from the different districts met in Savan- 
nah, and after appointi' g Major Ilorlon president, they 
entered into sundry resolutions the substance of which 
was " thjit the owners of slaves, should educate the 
young and use every possible means of making relig- 
ious impressions upon the minds of the aged, and that 
all acts of inhumanity should be punished by the civil 
authority." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 3& 

1764. The Rev. Ezra Stiles, D. D., afterwards pres- 
ident of Yale College, and Dr. Samuel Hopkins, under- 
took theediVcation of two apparently promising Negroes 
with a view to the ministry ; but it was finally a failure. 
Dr. Plum.er's Report. 

1770. While Dr. Stiles was pastor in Newport, R. 
J., there were many African slaves in that town. "Of 
80 communicants in his church in that town, 7 were 
Negroes. These occasionally met, by his direction, for 
religious improvement in his study," 

Methodism ^as introduced into this country in New 
York, 17(56 and the first missionaries were sent out by 
Mr. Wesley in 17*59 One of these, Mr. Fillmore, in a 
letter to Mr. Wesley, from New York, in 1770, says, 
"the number of l)]acks that attend the preaching affects 
me much." The first rcuular conference was held in 
Philadelphia, 1773. Number of ministers 10 and of 
members 1,160. From this year to 1776 there was a 
great revival of religion in Virginia under the preachiag 
of the Methodists, in connection with Rev. Mr. Jarratt 
of the Episcopal Church, which spread through 14 
counties in Virginia and 2 in North Carolina. One let- 
ter states, " the chapel was full of white and black;" 
another "hundreds of Negroes weie among them with 
tears streaming down theii faces." At Roanoke anoth- 
er lemarks, "in general the while people were within 
the chapel and the black people without." 

1780. AttheHth conference in Baltimore the follow- 
ing question appeared in the minutes. " Ques. 25. — 
Ought not the assistant to meet the colored people him- 
self and appoint as helpers in his absence proper white 
persons, and not suffer them to stay late and meet by 
themselves? Ans. — Yes." Under the preaching of Mr. 



40 ' RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

Garretson in Maryland, " hundreds both white and 
black expressed their love of Jesus." 

1786. The first return of colored members distinct 
from white occurs in the minutes of this year, and then 
yearly afterwards, white 18,791, colored 1,890. "It 
will be perceived from the above," says Dr. Bangs in 
his history of the Methodist Episcopal Church, "that a 
considerable number of colored persons had been receiv- 
ed into tlie church, and were so returned in the minutes 
of conference. Hence it appears that at an early period 
of the Methodist ministry in this country it had turned 
its attention to this part of the population." 

Mr. Rankin writing on the general state of Methodism 
in the Colonies at the the commencement of hostilities, 
observes, "in May 1777 we had 40 preachers in the 
different circuits and about 7000 members in the society, 
besides many hundreds of Negroes, who were convmced 
of sin, and many of them happy in the love of God.** 
Life of Coke, p. 53, 

In the year 178G the following case of conscience was 
overtured from Donegal Presbytery, in the Synod of 
New York and Philadelphia ; namely, 

"Whether Christian masters or mistresses ought in 
duty to have such children baptized, as are under their 
care though born of parents not in the communion of 
any Christian church ?" 

Upon this overture " the synod are of opinion that 
Christian masters and mistresses whose religious profes--^ 
sions and conduct are such as to give them a right to the 
ordinance of baptism for their own chihlren, may and 
ought to dedicate the children of ihcir household to God, 
in tliat ordinance, when they have no sciuple of con- 
science to the contrary." — Min. p. 413, and Min. of 
Gcn*l Assem. p. 97. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 41 

And on the next page (414) it was overtured "wheth- 
er Christian slaves having children at the entire direction 
of unchristian masters, and not having it in their power 
to instruct them in religion, are bound to have them 
baptized ; and whether a Gospel minister in this predica- 
ment ought to baptize them ?" The synod determined 
the question in the afirmative, 

1787. The minutes of the Methodist conference for 
this year, furnish the following question and answer, 
indicative of continued interest in the colored population. 
" Qwes, 17. — What directions shall we give for the 
promotion of the spiritual welfare of the colored peo- 
ple ? Ans. — We conjure all our ministers and preachers 
by the love ot God and the salvation of souls, and do 
require them by all the authority that is invested in us 
to leave nothing undone for the spiritual benefit and 
salvation of them, within their respective circuits or 
districts; and for this purpose to embrace every oppor- 
tunity of inquiring into the state of their souls, and to 
unite in society those who appear to have a real desire 
of fleeing from the wrath to come ; to meet such in 
class, and to exercise the whole Methodist discipline 
among them." Number of colored members 3,893. 

1790, Again: " Qyes. — What can be done in order to 
instruct poor children, white and black, to ead ? Ans. 
Let us labor as the heart and soul of one man to estab- 
lish Sunday schools in or near the place of public wor- 
ship. Let persons be appointed by the bishops, elders, 
deacons, or preachers, to teach gratis all that will attend 
and have a capacity to learn, from 6, o'clock in the 
morning till 10, and from 2 P. M. till 6, where it does 
not interfere with public worship. The council shall 

ooAipile a proper schoQl-book tu teach them learning and 
4# 



43 RELIGIOUS INSTBUCTION OF THE NEGROE3, 

piety." The experiment was made, but it proved 
unsuccessful and was discontinued. Number of colored 
members this year 11,682. 

Tlie Methodist is the only denomination which has 
preserved returns of the number of colored members 
in its connection. I find it impossible to make any 
estimate of the number in connection with the other 
denominations. The Methodists met with more success 
during this period in tlie Middle and Southern States 
than in the Northern, and as they ])aid particular atten- 
tion to the Negroes large numbers were brought under 
their influence. 

The first Baptist church in this country was founded 
in Providence, R. I., by Roger Williams, in 1639. 
Nearly one hundred years after the settlement of Amer- 
ica, " only 17 Baptist churches had arisen in it." The 
Baptist church in Charleston S. C, was founded in 1690. 
The denomination advanced slowly through the Middle 
and Southern States and in 1790 it had churches in them 
all. Revivals of religion wcif enjoyed, particularlv 
one in Virginia which commenced in 1785 and continued 
until 1791 or 1792. "Thousands were converted and 
baptized, besides many who joined the Methodists and 
Presbyterians." A large number ol Negroes were ad- 
mitted to the Baptist churches during the seasons of 
revival, as well as on ordinary occasions; they were 
however, not gathered into churches distinct from the 
whites south of Pennsylvania except in Georgia. Brief 
notices of churches composed exclusively of Negroes 
Avill be given in the second period of this Sketch. Be- 
fore the Revolution the Negroes in Virginia attended in 
crowds the Episcopal church, there being no other 
denomination of Christians of consequence in the Slate ; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 43 

but upon the introduction of other denominations they 
went off to them. Old Robert Carter, or Counsellor 
or King Carter, as lie was commonly called, among the 
richest men in the State, owning some 700 or 800 slaves 
and large tracts of land ; built Christ^s Church in Lan- 
caster county, Va., and reserved one-fourth for his 
servants and tenants. He was himself baptized, and 
afterwards emancipated a large number of his Negroes 
and living fourteen or fifteen years a Baptist, embraced 
and died in the faith of Swcdenhorg. 

The in(le[)endence of the American Colonies was 
acknowledged and peace established in 17b3. The 
articles of confedeiation of 1778 were superseded by 
our present Constitution in 1787, from the ratification of 
which to the present time our country has been rapidly 
advancing in prosperity. 

From the beginning of our controversies with the moth- 
er country to the breaking out of the revolutionary war ; 
throughout the pi riod of that arduous struggle ; and 
from its close, throughout the period of national exhaus- 
tion, loss of public credit, derangement in trade, political 
excitements, and conflicting opinions, to the ratification 
of the constitution, a period of near 20 years, the colo- 
nies suflered immeasurably in a moral and religious 
point of view ; and the notices during this period of the 
state of the churches and of the progress of the Gospel, 
are gloomy, and some of them of the gloomiest charac- 
ter. Of course the Negroes suffered in common with 
the rest of the population. 

A iew remarks suggested by the facts embraced in 
this first period of our Sketch, shall bring it to a con- 
clusion. 

The religious condition of the colonies up to the 



44 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGftOES. 

period of the revolution, taken on the whole, was not 
one remarkable foi its prosperity, notwithstanding 
there had been sonne revivals of religion. The New 
England Colonies were in respect to a supply of minis- 
ters and religious privileges and improvement beyond 
all the rest. But the whole country was in a forming 
state; but recently settled; every year receiving I'resh 
colonists from abroad, and the older settlers pushing 
their way into new and unexplored regions ; while 
repeated wars with the Indians, and wars with the 
French, the Dutch, and the Spaniards, threw different 
portions into protracted, distressing, and injurious com- 
motions. Agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and the 
arts, were but in their infancy ; and the general conduct 
of the mother country in regard to the government of 
the colonies and the policy to be pursued towards them, 
was wretched ; sometimes contradictory, frequently op- 
pressive and injurious, and contrary to the wishes of the 
colonists. 

Such being the state of affairs, we ought not to antici- 
pate any remarkable degree of attention, to the religious 
instruction of the Negroes, within ihe Colonies, as an 
independ&iit class of population. Especially too, as 
the effect of the slave trade, during its existence, was to 
harden the feelings against the unfortunate subjects of 
it, while their degraded and miserable ajipearance and 
character, their stupidity, their uncouth languages and 
gross superstitions, and their constant cupation, 
operated as so many checks to benevolent efforts 
for their conversion to Christianity. And thus, those 
who advocated the slave-trade on the ground that it 
introduced the Negroes to the blessings of civilization 
and the Gospel, saw their favorite argument losing its. 
jorce, in great measure, from year to year. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 45 

The fact, however, is worthy of remembrance, that 
while the Indians — some of whom received us as guests 
and sold us their lands at almost no compensation at all, 
and others were driven back to make us room ; and with 
whom we had frequent and bloody wars, and we became 
from time to time, mutual scourges — received some 
eminent missionaries from the colonists, and had no in- 
considerable interest awakened for their conversion ; the 
African who were brought over and bought by us for 
servants, and who wore out their lives as such, enriching 
thousands, from Massachusetts lo Georgia and were 
members of our households, never received from, the 
colonists themselves a solitary missionary exclusively 
devoted to their good ; nor was there ever a single soci- 
ety established within the Colonies, that we know of, 
with the express design of promoting their religious 
instruction ! 

The conclusion, however, would be unwarrantable, 
that they were wholly neglected. The language of 
President Davies, "that no man cared for their souls," 
must be received with Hhatement. For they had attracted 
the serious attention of societies in Europe, and of men 
eminent for wisdom, learning, and piety ; and able ap- 
peals were written to promote their religious instruction : 
and some attempts were made to send over missionaries 
and also to engage the services of the settled clergy in 
their behalf, the Church of England in this good work 
taking ihe lead. 

We are certified also, that efforts were made for their 
instruction, especially in the Southern Colonies, where 
their numbers were greater ; and that owners did to some 
small extent desire and attempt the instruction of their 
households; and that the settled as well as itinerant 



46 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

ministers did not wholly neglect them. Many Negroes 
were ret eived into the churches from one end of the 
Cohinies to ilic oih r and the rest and privileges of the 
Lord's (lay were secured lo them either by custom or 
law. We see them occasionally noticed in the proceed- 
ings of ecclesiastical associations. There were cate- 
chetical schools and schools for teaching them to read, 
in a few places. The Negroes were allowed to read, 
and books were, upon occasions, distributed to them ; 
but the privileges of education were gradually discour- 
aged and withlield, more particularly in those Colonies 
and States containing a large population of them, and 
whose policy it was to perpetuate the sarstem of slavery. 
Were it possible for us to obtain from all the ministers 
of various denominations ihroughout the Colonies, who 
flourished during these 170 years, a report of their reg- 
ular pastoral labors, such as have been furnished by a 
few, it might possibly appear that the Negroes received 
a larger share of religious instruction than, upon a con- 
sideration of ihe facts now before us, many would be 
led to imagine. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. i 47 



CHAPTER II. 



The Second Period — From the first Census in 1790, to 1S20, a 
Period of 30 years. 

1790. The interest awakened in Virginia, by the 
labors of President Davies, continued throughout this 
period, as appears by the following letter from the vene- 
rable Dr. Alexander of Princeton. 

" In addition to the efforts made by the Rev. Mr. 
Davies of Hanover, I would mention the name of a 
faithful coadjutor in this field, the effects of whose labors 
are still apparent in Cub-creek congregation, in Charlotte 
county, Va. The minister to whom I allude was the 
Rev. Robert Henry, a native of Scotland, who was for 
many years the pastor of Cub-creek and Briery congre- 
gations ui.ited, although their distance apart was not less 
than twenty miles. This gentleman possessed very 
humble talents as a preacher; blundered much, and 
sometimes lost himself, so that he had to conclude ab- 
ruptly. He was so absent that on one occasion after 
preaching, finding the horse of another person hitched 
where he commonly left his own beast, he n.ounled and 
rode him without noticing the mistake. He was noto- 
riously a man of prayer; for when he turned out of the 
public road to go to the house where he usually lodged 



48 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

the evening before he preached at Briery, he could be 
heard praying aloud long before he was in sight, and 
sometimes he became so much engaged that his old bald 
horse would come up and stop at the gate whilst he 
was still in earnest supplication. 

This man judiciously turned much of his attention to 
the Negroes ; and to them his ministry was attended 
with abundant success. Many were conveited and 
gathered into the church at Cub-creek. As this congre- 
gation was situated on the northern bank of Staunton 
river, where the land is very fertile, there were several 
large estates, possessing many slaves, within reach of 
the house of worship where he preached." 

The Rev. Henry Lacy succeeded Mr. Henry; during 
whose ministrations at Cub-creek about 200 were added 
to the church. There were 60 belonging to the church 
under the care of Mr. Cob. — Rev. W. S. Plumer^s 
Report. 

Dr. Alexander proceeds: "Many yeais after Mr. 
Henry's death, I was settled for several years in this 
county, and preached at the same placos where Mr. 
Henry had labored. At Cub-creek I found about 70 
black communicants, twenty-foin* of whom belonged to 
one estate. They were, in general, as orderly and as 
constant in their attendance on the word preached as the 
whites. Some of them had been received in Mr. Hen- 
ry's time, but others afterwards. 'J'he session of the 
church appointed two or tliree leading men among them 
to be a sort of overseers or superintendents of the rest, 
and we found that they performed their duties faith- 
fully. 

It was in this same county and very much to the 
large colored congregation at Cub-creek, that Dr. Rice 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 49 

labored after I left the place. He was when first settled 
pastor of Cub-creek and Belhesda, a new congregation 
which grew out of the former. As he was willing to 
bestow a part of his time entirely to the blacks, the 
Committee on Missions of the general Assembly, ap- 
pointed him for about three months in the year to labor 
among them, and I know that he was much encouraged 
in his work ; had some very promising young converts ; 
and the number of communicants was not diminished 
in his time. The present pastor (1840) is the Rev. 
Clement Read, a native of the county. He has labored 
there and at Bethesda for many years past. In general 
the Negroes were followers of the Baptists in Virginia, 
and after a while, as they permitted many colored men 
to preach, the great majority of them went to hear 
preachers of their own color, which was attended with 
many evils. In some parts of the state the Methodists 
also paid much attention to the Negroes and received 
many of them into their society ; but still professors 
among the Baptists were far more numerous. In many 
instances those who had been brought into the Presby- 
terian church were swept off by one or the other of 
these sects. But as long as I was acquainted with the 
congregation at Cub-creek, I never knew one of them 
to leave their own communion for another. We had 
the testimony of their masters and mistresses, to their 
conscientiousness, fideli*, and diligence. The lady 
who owned 25 of the communicants, selected all her 
house servants from the number, though not herself a 
communicant in the Presbyterian church. And on sev- 
eral estates instead of overseers, some of these pious 
men were appointed to superintend the labor of the 
other field servants." 
5 



50 RELIGIOUS INSTRDCtlON OF THE NEGROES, 

The Rev. Henry Patillo, pastor of the Grassy Creek 
and Nutbush ch'irches in Greenville county, North Car- 
orlina, labored successfully among the Negroes about 
this time ; the good effects of whose efforts continued 
to be felt for many years after. — Dr. Plumer^s Report 
to Sijiiods of N. Carolina and Virginia. 

1792. Towards the close of this year the first colored 
Baptist church in the city of Savannah, began to build a 
place of worship. The corporation of the city gave 
them a lot for the purpose. The origin of this church 
— the parent of several others — is briefly as follows: 

George Leile, sometimes called George Sharp, was 
born in Virginia about 1750. His master sometime 
before the American war, removed and settled in Burke 
county Georgia. Mr. Sharp was a Baptist and a deacon 
in a Baptist church, of which Rev. Matthew Mcore was 
pastor. George was converted and baptized under Mr, 
Moore's ministry. The church gave him liberty to 
preach. He began to labor with good success at differ- 
ent plantations. Mr. Sharp gave him his freedom not 
long after he began to preach : for about three years he 
preached at Brampton and Yamacraw in the neighbor- 
hood of Savannah. On the evacuation of the country, 
(1782 and 1783,) he went to Jamaica. Previous to his 
departure he came up from the vessel lying below the 
city in the river, and baptized^n African woman by the 
name of Kate, belonging to J\Irs. Eunice Hogg, and 
Andrew, his wife Hannah, and Hag-ar, belonging to 
the venerable Mr. Jonathan Bryan. 

The Baptist cause among the Negroes in Jamaica, 
owes its origin to the indefatigable and pious labors of 
this worthy man, George Leile. It does not come 
within my design to introduce an account of his efforts 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 51 

ki that islanrl ; I shall add only that in 1784 he com- 
menced preaching in Kingston, and formed a church, and 
in 1791 had gathered a company of 450 communicants 
and commenced the erection of a commodious meeting 
house. It finally cost with steeple and bell 4,000Z. He 
was alive in 1810 and about sixty years of age. 

About nine months after George Leile left Georgia, 
Andrew, surnamed Bryan, a man of good sense, great 
zeal, and some natural elocution, began to exiiort his 
black brethren and friends. He ar.d his followers were 
reprimanded and forbidden to engage further in religious 
exercises. He would however pray, sing, and encour- 
age his fellow worshippers to seek the Lord. Their 
persecution was carried to an inhuman extent. Their 
evening assemblies were broken up and those found 
present were punished with stripes ! Andrew Bryan 
and Sampson his brother, converted about a year after 
him, were twice imprisoned, and they with about fifty 
others were whipped. "When publicly whipped, and 
bleeding under his wounds, Andrew declared that he 
rejoiced not only to be whipped, but would freely suffer 
death for the cause of Jesus Christ : and that while he 
had life and opportunity, he would continue to preach 
Christ. He was faithful to his vow, and by patient 
continuance in well-doing, he put to silence and shamed 
his adversaries ; and influential advocates and patrons 
were raised up for him. Liberty was given Andrew by 
the civil authority to continue his religious meetings 
under certain regulations. His master gave him the use 
of his barn at Brampton, three miles from Savannah, 
where he preached for two years, with little interruption. 

Not long after Andrew began his ministry he was 
visited by the Rev. Thomas Barton, who baptized ei^h* 



53 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

teen of his followers on profession of their faith. The 
next visit was from the Rev. Abraham Marshall of Kioka, 
who was accompanied by a young colored preacher, by 
the name of Jesse Peter, from the vicinity of Aug-usta. 
On the 20th of January 1789, Mr. Marshall ordained 
Andrew Bryan, baptized forty of his hearers, and con- 
stituted them with others, 69 in number, a church, of 
•which Andrew was the pastor. Such was the origin of 
the first colored Baptist church in Savannah. — Hol- 
covihe''s Letters; Analytical Repository ; and Bene- 
dict's Hist, of Baptists : from which the preceding 
account has been taken. 

Before dismissing this notice, I cannot forbear intro- 
ducing the remarks of Dr. Holcombe on Andrew Bryan, 
•written in 1812. 

" Andrew Bryan has, long ago, not only honorably 
obtained liberty, but a handsome estate. His fleecy and 
well-set locks have been bleached hv eighty winters; 
and dressed like a bishop of London, he rides, mode- 
rately corpulent, in his chair, and with manly features, 
of a jetty hue, fills every person to w hom he gracefully 
bows, with pleasure and veneration, by displaying in 
smiles even rows of natural teeth, white as ivory, and a 
pair of fine black eyes, sparkling Avith intelligence, 
benevolence, and joy. In giving daily thanks to God 
for his mercies my aged friend seldom forgets to mention 
the favorable change that has of late years appeared 
through the lower parts of Georgia, as well as of South 
Carolina, in the treatment of servants." — Let. 17. 

1793. The African church in Augusta, Ga., was gath- 
ered by the labors of Jesse Peter, and was constituted 
this year by Rev. Abraham Marshall and David Tinsley. 
Jesse Peter was also called Jesse Golfin on aceouut 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 53 

of his muster's name — living twelve miles below 
Augusta. 

The number of Baptists in the United States this 
year was 73,471, allowing one-fourth to he Negroes the 
denomination would embrace between eighteen and 
nineteen thousand 

1795. The returns of colored members in the Methr 
odist denomination from 1791 to 1795, inclusive, were 
12,884, 13,871, 16,227, 13,814, 12,170. 

Several annual conferences recommended a general 
fast, to be held March 1796, and in the enumeration of 
blessings to be invoked the last mentioned was "that 
Africans and Indians may help to fill the pure church 
of God." And in the matters recommended as subjects 
of grateful remembrance in the day of thanksgiving for 
the last Thursday in October 1796, the last mentioned is 
— "And for African liberty ; we feci grateful that many 
thousands of these poor people are free and pious." 

1797. The Methodists reported in 1796, 1 1,280 col- 
ored members. The recapitulation of the numbers for 
1797 is given by States, and as it is a. most interesting 
document I insert it entire, so fax as it relates to the 



Negroes. 












Mass. 


8 


Penn. 


198 


S. C. 


890 


R. I. 


2 


Del. 


823 


Ga. 


148 


Conn. 


15 


Md. 


5 106 


Tenn. 


42 


N. Y. 


238 


Va. 


2 490 


Ky. 


57 


N. J. 


127 


N. C. 


2 071 







Making a total of 12,215; nearly one fourth of the 
w.hole number of members, were colored. There were 
three only in Can idn. 

Dr. Bangs adds: "It will be seen by the above enu- 
laeratioD that there were upward of 12,000 people of 



54 RELIGIOU3 INSTRBTCmON OF THE NEGROES, 

color attached to the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
These were chiefly in the Southern States, and had been 
gathered principally from the slave population. 

At an early period of the Methodist ministry in this 
country it had turned its attention and directed its efforts 
towards these people, with a view to bring them to the 
enjoyment of Gospel blessings. The preachers deplored 
with the deepest sympathy their unhappy condition, es- 
pecially their enslavement to sin and satan ; and while 
they labored unsuccessfully by all prudent means to 
effect their disenthralment from their civil bondage, 
they were amply rewarded for their evangelical eflbrta 
to raise them from their moral degradation, by seeing 
thousands of them happily converted to God. These 
efforts added much to the labor of the preachers, for 
such was the condition of the slaves that they were not 
permitted, on working days, to attend the public admin- 
istration of the word in company with their masters ;. 
and hence the preachers devoted the everJngs to their 
instruction after the customary labors of the day were 
closed. And although at first there was much aversion 
manifested by the masters, towaids these benevolent 
efforts to elevate the condition of the slaves; yet, wit- 
nessing the beneficial effects of the Gospel upon their 
hearts and lives, they gradually yielded their prejudices 
and encouraged the preachers in their labors, assisted in 
providing houses to accommodate them in their worship 
and otherwise protected them in their religious privileges. 
While, therefore, the voice of the preachers was not 
heard in favor of emancipation from their civil bondage, 
nor their remonstrances against the evils of slavery 
heeded, the voice of truth addressed to the understand-- 
ingB and consciences of the slaves themselves, wais often 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. S& 

heard with believing and obedient hearts and made 
instrumental in their deliverance from the shackles of 
sin and the bondage of satan. Those who were thus 
redeemed were enroled among the people of God and 
were consequently entitled to the privileges of the 
church of Christ. In some of the northern cities houses 
of worship were erected for their special and separate 
accommodation, and they were put under the pastoral 
charge of a white preacher, who was generally assisted 
by such colored local preachers as may have been raised 
tip among themselves; for many such, from time to 
time, possessing gifts for edification, were licensed to 
preach the Gospel to their colored brethren, and some 
of these have been eminently useful. In the more 
Southern States, where the municipal regulations in 
respect to slaves are more severe, some portion of the 
churches where the white population assemble is usually 
set apart for the blacks. Their behaviour has generally 
been such as to insure the confidence of their masters 
and the protection of their civil rulers, though they 
labored under the disabilities incident to a state of 
servitude." 

1799 This year is memorable for the commencement 
of that extraordinary awakening which, taking its rise 
in Kentucky and spreading in various directions and 
with different degrees of intensity, was denominated, 
*♦ the great Kentucky revival." It continued for above 
four years, and its influence was felt over a large portion 
of the Southern States. Presbyterians, Methodists, and 
Baptists participated in this work. In this revival origi- 
nated Camp-Meetings, which gave a new impulse to 
Methodism. From the best estimates the nuinher of 
Negroes received into the different commiiniot^^during 



6Q HELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

this season, must have been between four and five 
thousand. 

1800. Number of members in connection with the 
Methotlists 13,452. The bishops of the M. E. church 
were authorized to ordain African preachers, in places 
where there were houses of worship for their use, who 
might be chosen by a majoiity of the male members of 
the society to which they belonged and could procure a 
recommendation from the preacher in charge and his 
colleagues on the circuit, to the office of local deacons. 
Richard Allen of Philadelphia was the first colored 
man who received orders under this rule. 

1803. ' The second African church in Savannah 
formed out of the first, 26th Dec'r, 1802; and Henry 
Cunningham elected pastor and ordained to the work of 
the ministry, January 1st, 1803. On the 2d of January 
1803, another church was formed out of the^rs^ called 
the Ogechee Colored Baptist Church, and Henry Fran-- 
cis appointed to supply it. Henry Cunningham was a 
slave, but obtained his fredom. He is still the pastor of 
the 2d African church, far advanced in life, and from 
age unable to attend to his sacred duties, except to a 
very limited extent. He still enjoys, (as he has always 
enjoyed,) the confidence and esteem of all classes of the 
community in which he has lived so long, so virtuously, 
and so usefully. The Methodist conferences reported 
22,453 colored members — an increase over the last 
year of 3,794. 

In the report of the congregation of the Moravian 
Brethren at Graceham, Maryland, for 1801, the Rev. 
Frederick Schlegel under date of April 19th, writes ; 
"As a number of Negroes had for several Sundays suC'. 
cessively attended ouf divine worship,! collected thirteen. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 57 

of them and after a suitable address, prayed with them. 
They were very devout, and declared it to be their sin- 
cere desire to be truly converted. A few Sundays after 
brother Browne (who preached the Gospel to the JNegroes 
on Statcn Island) bein^ here on a visit, preached to 
thirty Negroes, anil after the sermon baptized two chil- 
dren. The transaction made such an impression on 
two of the adult Negroes that they requested this rite 
might be in mediately performed on them. They were 
however satisfied with the reasons I assigned for defer- 
ing it till they had received further instruction in Chris- 
tianity. A vry affecting scene took phice at the close 
of the meeting. A Negro overseer who was present:, 
kneeled down with his people and in an impressive 
prayer thanked God for what iheir souls had enjoyed 
that day. The number of Negroes that attended 
increased almost every week. At their request a regu- 
lation was made according tr) which separate meetings 
will be held with them at stated tin.es. Opportunities 
will also be offered them for private conversation on 
religious subjects." Some children and a few adults 
were in the sequel baptized. — Hist, of the Church of 
the Brethren, vol. 2, pp. 292 293. 

1805. An African church formed in Boston under 
the ministry of Thomas Paul a colored man. Their 
house of worship was finished in 1806; the lower stoiy 
fitted up for a school room. 

1806. The Baptist churches in South Carolina Avere 
130, the number of ministers 100, and communicants 
10,500, of which perhaps 3,.500 were Negroes. 

1807. Hanover Presbytery, Va., addressed a circle 
lar to the churches under their care, solemnly exhorting 
them not to neglect their duty to their servants, — Va, 
Mag., vol.2, p. 159. 



58 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

1809. The Abyssinian or African church formed in the 
City of New York. House of worship in Anthony street. 
Also an African church in Philadelphia; supplied for 
a time by Fleiiry Cunningham of Savannah, Ga. The 
estimate of colored communicants in the Baptist churches, 
in Virginia this year, I set down at 9,000. 

1810. By the reports of the state of the congregations, 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina, 
made in the convention, there were 199 colored commu- 
nicants in 3 churches, viz: St. Philips' and St. Michaels', 
Charleston, 120 and 73, and Prince George's, Winyaw, 
6, The other reports do not distinguish between white 
and colored communicants. 

1813. There were 40,000 Negroes connected Avith 
the Baptist denomination in the States of Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and 
Georgia. The historian remarks, " that among the 
African Baptists in the Southern States, there are a 
multitude of preachers and exhorters whose names do 
not appear on the minutes of associations. They preach 
principally on the plantations to those of their own color, 
and their preaching, though broken and illiterate, is in 
many cases highly useful." 

1816. There was a report adopted by the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian chuich in the United 
States, on the question, " ought baptism on the j)romise 
of the master to be administered to the children of 
slaves?" as follows: 1. that it is the duty of masters 
who are members of the church, to present the children 
of parents in servitude, to the ordinance of Baptism, 
provided they are in a situation to train them up in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord, thus securing to 
them the rich advantages which the Gospel promises. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 59 

2. That it is the duty of Christian ministers to inculcate 
this doctrine and to baptize all children when presented 
to them by their masters." — Minutes of the Assevibly. 

The subject of Mzssfows to the iVeg-roe^ «accu pied the 
attention of the General Assembly, but no plan of mis- 
sions was carried into effect. Dr. Rice of Virginia was 
employed by the committee on mis.^iors in the assembly 
for a pait of the year, and his labors were encouraging, 
as already stated by Dr. Alexander in his letter, and as 
appears also from the Minutes of the Assevihly, p. 372- 

The Colonization Society was formed thisyear, and I 
notice it, as furnishing tin index to ihe feelings of 
many in relation to tiie improvement of the Negro race. 

The Methodists reported ihis year 42,304 colored 
members, and a decrease of 883 since 1815. Dr. Bangs 
says, "this was owing to a defection among the colored 
people in the city of Philadelphia, by which upwards of 
1,000 in that city withdrew from our church and set up 
for themselves, with Richard Allen, a colored local 
preacher, an elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
at their head. — I5y habits of industry and economy, 
though born a slave in one of the Southern States; he 
had not only procured his freedom, but acquired con- 
siderable wealth, and since he had exercised tlie office 
of a preacher and an elder, obtained great influence 
over his brethren in the church At the secession they 
organized themselves into an independent body, under 
the title of the "African Methodist Episcopal Church." 
At their first general conference in April, 1816, Richard 
Allen was elected Bishop. — At the conference in 1828, 
Morris Brown was elected joint superintendent with 
Allen : and on the death of Allen, in 1836, Edward Wat- 
ters was elected joint superintendent with Brown. The 



60 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

colored congregations in New York city followed te 
example. — They adopted the itinerant mode of preach- 
ing and have spread themselves in different parts of 
Pennsylvania, New Yoik, New Jersey, Maryland and 
Delaware. There are also some in the Western States 
and a few in Upper Canada. In the more Southern 
States the Allcnites could make no favorable impres- 
sion, as the'r preachers were not recognized by the 
laws of the States, and the Slave population who were 
members of our church had the character of our white 
ministry pledged as a guarantee for their good beha- 
it/iour." 

1818. Under the report of colored members foi this 
year, the same writer remarks, " that while there was 
an increase of white members, amounting to 9,035, there 
was a decrease of 4,261 of the colored members." He 
states that this was owing to the Allenite secession : 
although not all who through its influence declared 
themselves independent, attached themselves to the 
Allenites. 

1819. The increase of colored members this year 
was but 24: 1819, 39,174, and 1818, 39,150. The 
smallness of the increase accounted for by the secession 
of the Negroes in New York city, amounting to " 14 
local preachers and 929 private members, including 
class-leaders, exhorters and stewards." 

A report dated June 14th, 1819, of a committee of 
the board of managers of the Bible society of Charleston, 
S. C, respecting the progress and present state of re- 
ligion in South Carolina, will cast some light on the 
subject bciore us. " From the best information the 
committee have been able to obtain, they find that the 
Gospel is now preached to about 613 congregations 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 61 

of Protestant Christians ; that there are about 292 
ordained clergymen who labor amongst them, besides a 
a considerable number of domestic tnissionaries, devoted 
and supported by each denomination, who dispense their 
labors to such of the people as remain destitute of an 
established ministry. From actual returns and cautious 
estimates where such returns have not been obtained, 
it appears that in the state there are about 46,000 Protes- 
tants who receive the holy communion of the I^ord's 
Supper. In the city of Charleston upwards of one- 
fourth of the communicants arc slaves or free persons 
of color ; and it is supposed that in the other parts of 
the state the proportion of such communicants may be 
estimated at about one-eighth. In every church 
they are freely admitted to attend on divine service : in 
most of the churches distinct accommodations are pro- 
vided for them, and the clergy in genera! make it a part 
of their pastoral care to devote frequent and stated 
seasons for the religious instruction of catechumen from 
amongst the black population." 

It may be proper to state in connection with this 
report, that from the beginr.ing, with scarcely an excep- 
tion, the Negroes applying for admissiun into the 
churches have been under the instruction of white min- 
isters or members : have been exartJined and approved 
as candidates for baptism : have been baptized and have 
partaken of the Lord's Supper at the san-.e time with 
white candidates and members, and been subject to the 
same care and discipline ; no distinction being made 
between the two classes of members in respect to the 
privileges and discipline of the churches. 

The Episcopal church reported in part the number of 
eolored members from 1812 to 1818, the majority io 
6 



62 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Charleston. The highest mimbcr reported was in 1817 
328. In 1818 there were 289. 

1820. Bishop McKendree presented an addiess to 
the general conference at Baltimore, in which he took 
notice of " the condition of the slaves." The number 
of colored members, by the minutes of conference, was 
40,558. 

The census of 1800 gave us 893,041 Negro slaves and 
110,555 free, making a total of 1,003,596. That of 
1810* was 1,191,364 slave and 195,643 free; total Negro 
population, 1,387,007. That of 1820, 1,538,064 slave 
and 241,020 free; total 1,782,084. 

The importation of Africans into our country ceased, 
by law, on the 1st of January 1808. The traffic was 
abolished by Virginia in 1778, and by Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, in 1780, 
1787, 1788. And before the year 1820 measures were 
taken by all the present free states, in which slavery had 
existed, for bringing the system to a close. What 
special efforts, if any, were made in these states by the 
churches, or by societies, (or the relijjious instruction of 
the Negroes thus attaining their freedom, I have no 
means of ascertaining with accuracy. From the best 
information in my possession special efforts were very 
few and very limit#tl. 

As a nation we were scarcely reviving from the Revo- 
lution and the excitement of the formation and establish- 
ment of our Constitution, when we were involved in a 
war with France, which, with its influences, and what 
was worse, the infidelity and skepticism which our pre- 
vious connection with that nation introduced among us, 
most seriously affected the interests of religion, and the 
'decline was perceptible in a greater or less degree orer 



HISTOKICAL SKETCH. 69. 

the whole Union. Not long after, our troubles with 
England began, which resulted in a four years war. 
Notwithstanding these interruptions, the Spirit of God 
was poured out largely in different parts of ihe country. 
Indeed, the tirst quarter of the nineteenth century wit- 
nessed a remarkable revival of the missioary spirit in 
the American as well as English churches. Many 
societies were organized on a large and liberal scale, 
(in whose existence the world has reason to rejoice,) for 
the spreading of the Gospel, both at home and abroad, 
as well by the circulation of the scriptures and auxiliary 
publications, as by the living teacher. 

This spirit wrought in the hearts of ministers and peo- 
ple geneially, and anew and mighty impulse was given to 
religion. In the South it awakened many to see the 
spiritual necessities of the Negroes. Many ministers 
began to preach particularly and more faithfully to them 
and to attempt a regular division of their time on the 
Sabbath, between ihe whites and blacks. Attempts 
were also made in some parts of the South, to teach the 
Negroes letters, so as to enable them to read the word 
of God for themselves. These schools were short-lived 
but the fact of their existence, evidences that there was 
considerable interest felt in their religious instiuction. 
Houses of public worship, exclusively for the use of the 
Negroes, were erected in many of the chief towns, and 
they worshipped in them, under the care of white or 
colored teachers. In numbers of white churches space 
was allowed for the accommodation of the Negroes, in 
the galeries or in the body of the house below; and 
within sight and hearing of country churches, in some 
pleasant grove fitted up with booths, with a stand or 
pulpit for preaching, the Negroes would o(t times be 



64 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGR0E3. 

seen assembling for worship between services, or in the 
afternoon. Tiiere were planters also, who undertook to 
read and explain the scriptures, and pray with their 
people. 

It is not toi much to say that the relig-ious and physi- 
cal condition of the Negroes were both improved during 
this period. Their increase was natural and regular, 
ranging, every ten years, between 34 and .36 per cen^ 
As the old stock from Africa died out of the country the 
grosser customs, the ignorance and paganism of Africa, 
died with them. Their descendants, the country-horn^ 
were better looking, more intelligent, moie civilized, 
more susceptible of religious im|)ressions. Growing up 
under the eyes and in the families of owners, they 
became more attached to them, were identified in iheir 
households and accompanied tlieni to church. The 
Gospel was preached to masters and servants; servants 
having no religion to renounce grew up in the belief of 
that of their masters. On the whole, however, but a 
minority of the Negroes, and that a small one, attended 
regularly the house of God, and taking them as a class» 
their religious instruction was extensively and mosi 
seriously neglected. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH, 66 



CHAPTER III. 



The Third Period — From 1820 to 1842— a Period of 22 years. 

1821. The Methodist Episcopal Church reported 
this year 42,059 colored members in the United States ; 
and their numbers gradually increasing. 

1822. The account of the labors of the Moravian 
Brethren by Mr. Schmidt, alreiidy referred to, brings 
down their labors to 1837, and is as follows : 

"In January 1822, a Female Auxiliary to the Mission- 
ary Society was formed at Salem and at their special 
request an attempt was made to collect the Negroes into 
a separate congregation of their own — apian which 
had, indeed, long been an object of . desire. Brother 
Abraham Sleiner was commis^sioned to make a cora- 
mencement of the work by holding a monthly preaching 
on a plantation about three miles distant from Salem, 
where the Negro communicants resided. At his first 
sermon there, March 24lh, 1822, more than fifty black 
and colored people were present. After a fervent prayer 
he discoursed on the words of our Saviour, " the Son of 
Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." 
With this monthly preaching, which was well attended 
by the Negroes, catechetical instruction in the great Ji 
6* 



66 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGilOES. 

iruths of our religion was combined. May 19th the 
Lord's Slipper was celebrated with the three persona 
who were already communicants as the first I'ruiis of this 
infant Negro flock. Great stillness and devotioii con- 
tinued to mark the attendance of the Negroes on divine 
worship, yet few sought for closer fellowship, so that 
this lillle flock has never to the present day numbered 
more than twenty members. 

A Negro chapel was built in 18^23, at the expense of 
the Fenirile Auxiliary and consecrated by brother Benade, 
the resident Bishop, December 28ih, in the presence of 
near a hundred Negroes and colored people, and many 
members of the congregation at S lem. This was fol- 
lowed by the baptism of a married Negro woman, and 
the solemnities of the day were closed by a cheerful 
love feast, at which the object of our covenant was 
explained and two Negroes were received into the con-' 
gregalion. It was a day of blessing for the Negroes, 
many of whom seemed to be deeply affected. Having 
now a place of worship of their own, the meetings could 
be better adapted to their circumstances. Several sisters 
offered themselves, to keep a Sunday school for their -v^ 
benefit, an;l it was diligently frequented, not only by 
children, but also by adults. This hopeful project was 
soon, however, painfully interrupted by a law which 
passed the legislature of North Carolina, forbidding any 
school inst-'uction to be imparted to the Negroes; — a 
prohibition which likewise operated very injuriously on 
their attendance at the meetings. May 22d, 1833, the 
Negroes were called to mourn over the loss of their 
faithful and much loved p.istor, bi other Abraham Steiner, 
and his place was supplied by lirother J(>hn Renatus 
Schmidt. For the last year cr two, they have manifested 



HISTORKAL SKETCH. C7 

a greater desire for the word of life and visited the house 
of God more diligently, and our testimony to the suffer- 
ings and death of Jesus appears to find more entrance 
into their hearts. In the private meetings of the little 
Negro flock, and particularly at the holy communion, 
the peace of God is powerfidly perceptible. The 
company of emnnpipated Negroes, upwards of twenty 
in number, who sailed last year for Liberia, on the 
western coast of Africa, had all been diligent attendants 
on our meetings and former Sunday school, and one of 
them was a communicant member of our flock. At 
parting the)' declared with tears that nothing grieved 
them so much as the loss of these piivileges. They 
promised to devote themselves to the Lord Je^us and to 
remain faithful to him. 

In the fourteen years which have elapsed since their 
church was dedicated 10 adults ami 73 children have 
been baptized and 8 received into the conf»regation» 
The little flock consi.'^ls at present (1837,) of 17 adult 
members, 10 of whom are communicants. 

On the settling of the Brethren in Wachovia, (N. C.,) 
it was fheir most cherished ol)j( ct to communicate the 
Gospel both to the Indians on the borders of the South- 
ern Slates and to the IS'egro population of those States, 
amounting to several tliousands, especially to such as 
resided in the neis^hborhood of our congregations, hop- 
ing that they might be favored to gather from among 
them a reward for the t av.iil of the Redeenier'.s soul. 
Special meetings were accordingly commenced at Hope 
and Bethany, and elsewhere in the neighborhood of 
Salem, and the Negroes u ho were numerous in these 
districts, were in general diligent in attending them. 
The various ministers stationed at Salem, the late breth- 



68 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGR0E3. 

Ten Fritz, Kramsch, Wohfahrt, Abraham Steiner, and 
their wives, interested themselves with particular affec- 
tion for the sjirilual welfare of the Negmes in their 
vicinity, and the Lord so blesrscd their labors to the 
hearts of many that ihey could be admitted to n partici- 
pation of the Lord's supper. A thankful remembrance 
of their faithful services is still retained by the Negroes. 

In the prosecution of the mission amongst the Chero- 
kees, and in the attempt to establish one amongst the 
Creek Indians, the Negroes dispersed among them were 
not forgotten. Our brethren at Springplace had the 
gratification of baptizing the firstling of these Negroes 
July 29lh 1827. He was a nauve Afiican of the Tjamba 
tribe, and was baptized into the death of Jesus by the 
name of Christian Jacob, continuing faithful to his 
Christian profession till his liappy end." 

The Rev. John Mines, pastor of a church in Lees- 
burg, Va., published, "The Evangelical Catechism, or 
a plain and easy system of the principal doctrines and 
duties of the Christian religion. Adapted to the use of 
Sabbath schools and families : with a new method of 
instructing those who cannot read. Ilichmond 1822." 

His "new method," was what is called " oral instruc- 
tion ;" the scholars reppMiing the answers after the 
teacher until committed to memory. Mr. Mines was 
much interested in the religious instruction of the Ne- 
groes. In ilie preface to his catechism, he states that 
" he had several classes of them (taught by his friends)" 
he commends the use of it to masters and 7nJstresses, 
as "an humble attempt" to furnish them with appropri- 
ate means for the instruction of their servants in religious 
knowledge; and he commends it also to '■^ his colored 
friends in the United Statcsy* as a book written "espe- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 69 

cially for thpm," and says, "with the help of God, I 
will attend particularly to your -spiritual interests while 
I live." 

1823. Bishop Dehon of the Diocese of South Caro- 
lina, had all his good feelings excited in behalf of the 
Negroes. "In iiis own congregation he was the laI)ori- 
ous and patient minister of the AlViran ; and he encour- 
aged among the mastfrs and mistresses in his flock, that 
best kindness towards tlieir servants — a concern for 
their eternal salvation." " He endeavored to enlighten 
the community on this subject." " lie would gladly em- 
brace opportunities to converse with men (»f influence 
relating to it," etc. — Life, by Dr. Gadsden- 

The Rev. Dr. Dalcho, of the Episcopal church, 
Charleston, this year issued a valuable pamphlet entitled 
"Practical Considerations, founded on the Scripiu.es, 
Relative to the Slave Population of South Caiolina." 
Its design is given in the first paragraph, namely, "to 
show from the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment, that slavery is not forbidden by the Divine Law: 
and at the same time, to prove the necessity of giving 
religious instruction to our Negroes." Dr. Dalcho 
mentions that in 1822 there were 316 colored communi- 
cants in the Episcopal churches in Charleston, and 200 
children in their colored Sunday schools. 

A few months before this pamphlet appeared. Dr. 
Richard Furman, President of the Baptist State Con- 
vention of S. C, in the name of that convention, 
addressed a letter to his Excellency, (Jovernor Wilson 
giving an "Exposition of the Views of the Baptists 
relative to the Colored Population in the United States :" 
in which, among other observations, we find the follow- 
ing: "Their religious inteiests claim a regard from 



70 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

their masters of the most serious nature, and it is indis- 
pensable." 

Tlie lameiitei] Dr. John Holt Rice, already mentioned 
in this Sketch, presented the subject of the religious 
instruction of the Negroes in a strong light to the con- 
sideration of his fellow citizens of Virginia in the 
Evanglical Magazine, vol. 8 pp. H13-4. He printed 
a sermon on the duly of masters to educate and baptize the 
children of their servants. Throi;gh his influence many 
in Virginia were induced to gi"e ihf dtity of the religious 
instruction of the Negroes serious consideration, which 
resulted in action One of his objects in devoting himself 
to the establishment of the Prince Edward Tlieological 
Seminary, was that a ministry might be educated at home 
and filled for the field, composrd as it is, of masters and 
servants, bond and free. This was also one prominent 
object in the minds of many ministers, elders, and lay- 
men, in the foundation and endowment of the Theological 
Seminary of the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, 
in Columbia, S. C. 

182S. Number of colored members in iNTelhodist E. 
Church, 48,096 and for 1825, 49,537; 1826, 51,334; 
1827, 53,565 ; 1828, 5S,856; showing a steady increase. 
In 1'528. "a plain and easy Catechism, designed chiefly 
for the benefit of colored persons, with suitable Prayers 
and Hymns annexed," was published by Rev. B. M. 
Palmer, D. D., pastor of the Circular Church, Charles- 
ton, S. C." Six or eight years before this he had 
published a smaller work of the same kind and bear- 
ing nearly the same title. During all his ministry 
in Charleston he was a firm supporter of the religious 
instruction of the Negroes, both in word and deed. 

1829. The Honorable Charles Co4,esworth Pinckney 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 71 

of the Episcopal church, delivered an address before the 
Agriciillural Society of South Carolina, in wliich he 
ably and largely insists upon the religious instruction of 
the Negroes. This address went through two or more 
editions and was extensively circulated and with the 
happiest efFt^cts. 

1830. The historian of the Methodist Episcopal 
church remarks, " this year several missions were com- 
menced for the special benefit of the slave population in 
the States of South Carolina and Georgia. This class 
of people had been favored with the labors of the 
Methodist ministry from the beginning of its labors in 
this country, and there were at this time 62,bl4 of the 
colored population in the several stales and territories 
in our church fellowship, most of whom were slaves. 
It was found, however, on a closer inspection into their 
condition, thai there were many that could not be reached 
by the ordinary means, and therefoie preachers were 
selected who might devote themselves exclusively to 
their service." 

He alludes particularly to the " Missionary Society of 
the South Carolina Conference, Auxiliary to the Mis- 
sionary Society of the Methodist Episcoj)al Church," 
of which, at least so far as its cfiorts respect the 
Negro population, the Rev. "William Capers, D. D., 
of Charleston, S. C, is the founder. He has been 
superintendent of these missions to the Negroes from 
their commencement and has spared no exertions to ex- 
tend and render them successful. The reports of the 
board of managers, drawn up from year to year by him- 
self exhibit the purity and fervor of his zeal in so good 
a cause, as well as the remarkable progress which it has 
made. 



72 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

In the winter of 1830 and the spring of 1831, two 
Associations of p'anteis were formed in Georgia for the 
special object of affording religious instruction to the 
Negroes, by their own efforts and by missionaries em- 
ployed for ihe purpose. The first was formed by the 
Rev. Joseph Clay Stiles in Mcintosh county, embracing 
the neighborhood of Harris' neck, which continued in 
operation for some time, until by the withdrawment of 
Mr. Stiles' labors from the neighborhood and the loss 
of some of the inhabitants by death and removals it 
ceased. The secovd Avas formed in Liberty county by 
the Midway Congregational church, and the Baptist 
church under their respective pastois the Rev. Robert 
Quarlerman and the Rev. Samuel Spry Law; which 
Association, with one suspension from the absence of a 
missionary, has continued its operations to the present 
time. 

One or more associations for tlie same purpose Avere 
formed in St. Luke's Parish, S. C, in which John David 
Mungin, Esquire, took an active part. 

1831. An address, entitled, "the Religious Instruc- 
tion of the Negroes," delivered before the Associations 
of Mcintosh and Liberty counties, was published and 
circulated in newspaper and pamphlet form. 

1833. Edward R. Laurens, Esquire, delivered an 
address before the Agricultural Association of S. C, in 
which this duty in the form of oral instruction, under 
proper arraiigenients is recognised. — Southern Agri- 
culturist, 1832. "A short Catechism for the use of the 
colored members or. trial of the M. E. Church in South 
Carolina: by W. Capers, D. D., Charleston, 1832." 

This short catechism was prepared by Dr. Capers, for 
the use of the Metliodist missions to the Negroes of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 73 

S. C. conference, and it is used by all the missionaries. 

1833 The Missionary Society of the S. C. Confer- 
ence which had now fairly entered upon its work, 
reported thai the missions were generally in flourishing 
circumstances; that there were 1,395 colored members, 
and 490 children under catechetical instruction at the 
mission stations. The society also recommended the 
establishment of four or five new stations and the ap- 
pointment of three or four new missionaries for stations 
already occupied. — Report pp. 12 — 15. 

Tiie " First Annual Report, " of the Liberty County 
Association, was publislied and circulated in two editions. 

Two essays were read before the presbytery of 
Georgia, in April, 1833, one on "The Moral and Reli- 
gious condition of our coloured population, " and the 
other, a " Detail of a Plan for the Moral Improvement 
of Negroes on plantations," by Thomas Savage Clay, 
Esq., of Bryan County. They were both published by 
order of presbytery. The " Detail, etc., " by Mr. Clay, 
which was indeed the result of his own experience and 
observation on his own plantation for many years, was 
extensively circulated and received with approbation, 
and has done, and still is doing, much good. 

In December, of this year, the " Report of the Com- 
mittee, to whom was referred the subject of the religious 
instruction of the Negroes, " of the synod of South 
Carolina and Georgia was published. To this report a 
series of resolutions were subjoined. 

1. ''That to impart the Gospel to the Negroes of our 
country is a duty which God in his providence and in 
his word imposes on us. 2. That in the discharge of 
this duty, we separate entirely the civil and religious con- 
dition of this people; and while we devote ourselves to the 
improvement of latter, we disclaim all interference with 
7 



74 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

the former. 3. That the plan which we sliall i)nrsucfor 
their religious inslruclion shall be that permitted by the 
laws of the States constiluling the bounds of this synod. 
4. That wc deem religious instruction to master and 
servant every way conducive to our interests for this 
world and for that whicli is to come. 5. That every 
member of titis synod, wliile he endeavors to awaken 
others, shall set the example and begin tlie religious in- 
struction of the servants of his own household, system- 
atically and perseveringly, as God shall enable him. 6. 
Tliat we cannot longer continue to neglect this duty 
without incurring the charge of inconsistency in our 
Christian character; of unfaithfulness in the discharge 
of our ministerial duty; and at the same time meeting 
the disapprobation of God and our consciences." The 
narrative of religion of the synod, at the same session, 
holds the following language: "the synod continue to 
feel the same responsibilities and desires on this subject 
which they have repeatedly expressed. They rejoice 
to find that increasing attention is paid to it on the part 
of many who are largely interested as owners in this 
class of our population." — Min. pp. 24, 34. 

The project of forming a Domestic Missionary Soci- 
ety, under the care of the synod, with special reference 
to the religious instruction nf the Negroes, was some- 
what discussed, chiefly in private, and a committee was 
appointed by the synod to bring in a repoit at the next 
meeting. 

The reports from tlic Episcopal churches in South 
Carolina to the convention, evidenced much attention to 
the Negroes. The Rev. Joseph II. Walker, of Beau- 
fort, reported 57 communicants and 234 members of the 
Sunday school, which was conducted by the first and 
best society in the place. 



HISTOIUCAL SKETCH. 07 

Bishop Ives of North Carolina, addressed to his oon- 
vention, " on the interesting subject of providing for our 
slave population a more adequate knowledge of the 
doctrines of Christ crucified." He stated in a letter to 
Bishop Meade, that active efforts in behalf of this peo- 
ple were made in five or six of the churches, and singled 
out the church of St. John's, Fayetteville, embracing 
between three and four hundred worshippers of whom 
forty were communicants. 

There were several religious newsfiapers, conducted 
by difterent denominations, that advocated openly and 
efficiently, about this time, the religious instruction of 
the Negroes : the '' Gospel Messenger," Episcopal, 
Charleston : the " Charleston Observer," Presbyterian : 
the " Christian Index," Baptist : the " Southern Chris- 
tian Advocate," Methodist: the "Western Luminary," 
Kentucky: and there may be added, the "New Orleans 
Observer," and the "Southern Churchman," Alexan- 
dria; besides others. Through these papers, having an 
extensive circulation, the subject was presented to the 
minds of thousands of our citizens. 

There was published this year. (1833,) "a Plain and 
Easy Catechism : designed for the benefit of colored 
children, with several verses and hymns, with an appen- 
dix : compiled by a missionary: Savannah." This 
missionary was a Methodist; tlie Rev. Samuel J. Bryan, 
who labored among the Negroes on the Savannah river 

" The encouraging success whicii had attended the 
labors of our preachers among tiie slave and free black 
population of the South, stimulated our brethren in the 
Southwest to imitate their example by opening n.issions 
for the special benefit of this class of people. Hence 
at the last session of the Tennessee conference the 



76 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGftOES. 

African Mission, embracing the colored population of 
Nashville and its vicinity was commenced; a regular 
four week's circuit was formed, and the good work was 
prosec\]lcd with such success that in 1834 there were 
reported 819 church members." — Bangs 4, p. 143. 

1834. "A meeting was held in Petersburg, Va., in 
March 1834, composed of representatives from the 
synods of North Carolina and Virginia. After dispos- 
ing of the special business for which the meeting was 
called, the subject of the religious instruction of the 
Negroes was discussed and as a result a committee was 
appointed, consisting of three ministers and ciders in 
each of the States, " to bring before the presbyteries the 
subject of ministers giving more religious instruction to 
the colored people; and to collect and publish informa- 
tion on the best modes of giving oral instruction to this 
class of our population." That committee, of which 
Rev. William S. Piumer, D. D., now of Richmond, was 
the chairman, performed its duty and presented a report 
to the synods of North Carolina and Virginia at their 
fall sessions in 1834. The same report, with some ac- 
companying documents was forwarded to the s)-nod of 
South Carolina and Georgia, and lead before that body 
in December, 1834, 

The committee of the synods of North Carolina and 
Virginia, reported a plan ''for forming a society by the 
concurrence of two or more synods for the purpose of 
affording religious instruction to the Negroes in a man- 
ner consistent with the laws of the States and with the 
feelings and wishes of planters." Tlie plan was laid 
before the synod of North Carolina, and acceded to. It 
was laid over by the synods of Virginia and South Car- 
olina ^nd Georgia, to their sessions in 1835 and then. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 65 

for special reasons, indefinitely postponed. A report 
was presented by a committee of the synod of South 
Caioliiia and Georgia, on this plan. The repoil was 
adverse to it, on account of the extent of the proposed 
organization; the excitement of the limes ; and the be- 
lief that each .'iynod could of itself conduct the work 
more successfully, than when united with the other two. 
The constitution of the proposed society, the reasons 
in favor of it, and Dr. Plumer's report, were all laid 
before the public in the columns of the Charleston Ob- 
server. The report has been several times referred to 
in this Sketch. 

The synod of South Carolina and Georgia, December 
1834, passed the following rci^olutions: " 1. That it be 
enjoined upon all the churches in the presbyteries com- 
prising this synod, to talve order at their earliest meet- 
ing to obtain full and correct stalislical information of 
the number of colored persons in actual attendance at 
our several places of worship, and the numbei of colored 
members in our several churches, and make a full report 
to the synod at its next meeting; and for this purpose 
that the stated clerk of this synod furnish a copy of 
this resolution to the stated clerk of each presbytery. 
2. That it be enjoined on all presbyteries in presenting 
their annual report to synod, to report the stale of reli- 
gion in the colored part of their congregations, and also 
to present a statistical report of the increase of colored 
members, and that this be the standiiig- rule of synod 
on this subject." The naralive states "that increasing 
efiorts had been made to impart religious instruction to 
the Negroes." — M«/7. pp. 22, 29. 

The synod of Mississippi and Alabama, in their nar- 
rative, November 1, 1834, say, "another very encour- 
5* 



78 RELIGIOUS INSTKUCTIOX OF THE NEGROES. 

aging circumstance in the situation of our churches is 
the deep interest which is I'elt in behalf of our colored 
population, ant! the efforts which are made to impart to 
them religious instruction. All our ministers feel a deep 
interest in the instruction of this part of our population, 
and when prudently conducted we meet with no opposi- 
tion. A few of us, owing to peculiar circumstances, 
have no opportunity of preaching to them separately and 
at stated times ; but embrace every favorable opportu- 
nity that occurs. Others devote a portion of every 
Sabbath ; others a half of every Sabbath ; and two of 
our number preach exclusively to them. During the 
past year the condition and wants of the colored popu- 
lation, have occupied more of our attention than at any 
previous period, and in future we hope to be more untir- 
ing in all our efforts to promote their happiness in this 
life and in that which is to come." In their resolutions 
this synod enjoined all under their care directly to make 
" united eflbrts to provide means for the employment of 
missionaries to give oral instruction to the colored popu- 
lation on the plantations with the permission of those 
persons to whom they belong." 

In this same year, (1 634,) " the Kentucky Union, for 
the moral and religious improvement of the colored 
race," was formed, and a "circular" addressed to the 
ministers of the Gospel in Kentucky, by the executive 
committee of that Union ; to which the constitution was 
appended. It was a "union of the several denomina- 
tions of christians, in the State." The Rev. H. H. 
Cavanaugh was president; there were fen vice presi- 
dents, selected from different quartets of the State; and 
an executive committee of seven members located in 
Danville, of which llev. John C. Young was chairman. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 79 

President Young tokl me at the general assembly of 1839 
that this Union had not accomplished much. 

The ^^ second annual report" of the Liberty County 
Association Avas published, giving some good account of 
their operations. " An Essay on the Management of 
Slaves, and especially on their religious instruction," 
read before the agricultural society of St. John's Colle- 
ton, S. C, by WhitemariL,h B. Seabrook, president, was 
published by the society. Mr. Seabrook reviews some 
former publications on the religious instruction of the 
Negroes, and suggests his own plans and views on the 
subject. The Right Reverend William Meade, Assistant 
Bishop of Virginia, published an admirable ^^ pastoral 
letter, to the ministers, members, and friends of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the diocese of Virginia, 
on the duty of affording religious iristruclion lo those 
in bondage." The Bishop in his zeal and personal 
efforts on this subject, demonstrates the sincerity of his 
published opinions. 

The missionary society of the S. C. conference re- 
ported five missionaries to the blacks, in N. C. one, the 
rest in S. C, and 2,145 members and 1,503 c'lildien 
under catechetical instruction. 

"The Colored man's Help: or the Planters Cate- 
chism: Richmond, Va." was now published. 

Also, in the "Charleston Observer," "Biographies 
of Servants mentioned in the Scriptures: with Ques- 
tions and Answers. " 

These admiiable sketches were prepared by Mrs. 
Horace S. Pratt, then of St. Mary's, Ga. and now of 
Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Rev. Horace S. Pratt previous- 
ly to his appointment to a profrs-sorship in the Alabama 
College at Tuscaloosa, and v.'hile Pastor of the St. Ma- 



80 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

ry's Presbyterian Church, gave much of his attention to 
the religious instruction of the Negroes, and prepared at 
his own expense a comfortable and commodious house 
of worship for them, and which they occupy at the pres- 
ent time- 
Also, " A Catechism for Colored Persons. By C. C. 
Jones, " printed in Charleston. 

1835. "The Third Annual Report of the Liberty 
County Association, " was printed and more extensively 
circulated than the two preceeding. 

In the narrative of the state of religion in the synod 
of South Carolina and Georgia, it is said : " even 
the religious instruction of our slave population, entire- 
ly suspended in some parts of the country, through the 
lamentable interference of abolition, fanatics has pro- 
ceeded with almost unabated diligence and steadiness of 
purpose through the length and breadth of our Synod." 
Min. 1835, p. 62. 

Bishop Bowen of the diocese of S. C. prepared at 
the request of the convention and prit.led, "A Pastoral 
Letter on the Religious Instruction of the slaves of mem- 
bers of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of 
Soutli Carolina; " to which he appended "Scripture 
Lessons," for the same. 

The subject had been presented to the Convention by 
an able report from a committee and a portion of the 
report, was embodied in Bishop Bowen's letter. 

The Missionary Society of the S. C. conference re- 
ported this year, 2,603 members, and 1,330 children 
under catechetical instruction. 

1836. The Rev. George W. Freeman, late Rector 
of Christs' Church Raleigh, N. C. published two dis- 
courses on " The Rights and Duties of Slaveholders." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 81 

Mr. Freeman with pathos and energy, urges upon mas- 
ters and mistresses the duty of religious instruction. — p. 
3 J — 34 

The report of the L'berty County Association was 
prepared, but not published this j)ear. The operations 
of the Association during ihe year had been successful. 

The bishops of tlie M. E. Church in the United States, 
in their letter of reply to the letter from the Wes- 
leyan Methodisi Conference, England, held the follow- 
ing language : "It may be pertinent to remark that of 
the colored population in the Southern and South-west- 
ern States, there are not less than 70,000 in oui church 
membership ; and that in addition to those wlio are ming- 
led with our white congregations, we have several pros- 
perous missions exclusively for their spiritual benefit, 
which have been and are still owned of God, to the con- 
version of many precioii? souls. On the plantations of 
the South and South-west our devoted missimiaiies are 
laboring for tlie salvation of the slaves, catechising their 
children and bringing all within theirinfluence, as far as 
possible to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; and 
we need hardly add, that we shall most gladly avail our- 
selves, as we have ever done, of all the means in our 
power to promote their best interests." The total num- 
ber of colored members reported for 183(i, was 82,661. 

1837, 1838. The subject of the leligious instruction 
of the Negroes was called up and attended to in the 
synod of South Carolina and Georgia both these years, 
and many Sunday schools for children and adults re- 
ported from the different presbyteries. It also received 
attention in all the southern synods. There appeared 
to be a growing conviction of the duty itself, and on the 
whole an increase of efforts. 



82 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Tiie instruction of the Negroes in Liberty county, by 
the Association, was carried forward as usual during the 
summers of these years, but in consequence of the ab- 
sence of the missionary in the winters, no reports were 
published. 

The Missionary Society of the South Carolina con- 
ference prosecuted its work with encouraging success. 
In an annu^il meeting in the town of Colund)ia, S. C, 
they collected for iheir missions to the Negroes between 
twelve and fifteen hundred dollars. 

Bishop Meade collected and published "Sermons, Dia- 
logues ant! Narratives for servants, to be read to them 
in families : Richmond, 1836." 

The second edition of "the Catechism for colored 
persons," by C. C. Jones: Savannah, T. Purse, 1837. 
Also, "a Catechism to be used by the teachers in the 
religious instruction of persons of color, etc.: prepared 
in cor.for.mity to a resolution of the Convention, under 
the direction of the Bishop: Charleston." The Reve- 
rend gentlemen of the diocese of South Carolina who 
united in preparing this catechism, were Dr. Gadsden, 
(now Bishop,) Mr. T. Trapier, and Mr. William H. 
Barnwell. 

The following resolution was passed in the Episcopal 
convention of South Carolina in 1838: ^'■Resolved, 
That it be respectfully recommended to the members of 
our church, who are proprietors of slaves individually 
and collectively, to take measures for the support of 
clerical missionaries and lay catechists who are mem- 
bers of our church, for the religious instruction of their 
slaves." And again, '■^Resolved, That it be urged upon 
the rectors and vestries of the country parishes, to exert 
themselves to obtain the services of such clerical mis- 
sionaries and lay catechists." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 83 

1839, 1840. From the reports of tlie Liberty county 
Association for these years, it appears that a revival of 
religion commenced toward the close of the summer of 
1838 among the Negroes, and extended very nearly over 
the whole county, and continued for two years. The 
whole number received into the Congregational and 
Baptist churches, on profession of their faith, was fully 
two hundred and fifty. The number of adults and chil- 
dren und?r catechetical instruction in the Sabbath 
schools connected with the Association and in the dif- 
ferent churches, ranged from^^De to seven hundred. 

The Missionary Society of South Carolina Confer- 
ence reported in 1839, 13 missions, 210 plantations, 19 
missionaries, 5,482 church members, and 3,7G9 children 
catechised. In 1840, 13 missions, 232 plantations, 19 
missionaries, 5,482 members, and 3,811 children. — Mi- 
nutes. 

The Methodists returned in 1840, 94,532 colored per- 
sons in their connection. 

The Rev. T. Archibald, (Presbyterian,) laboured as 
a missionary to the Negroes in Mississippi for several 
years, and in 1839 after leaving his charge in consequence 
of the Abolition excitement, he received a call to preach 
to the Negroes in Morengo county, Alabama. 

The Rev, James Smylie and Rev. William C. Blair, 
(of the same denomination) were and still are (if our late 
information be correct) " engaged in tiiis good work sys- 
tematically and constantly " in Mississippi. The Rev, 
James Smylie, is characterized as " an aged and inde- 
defatigable father : his success in enlightening the Ne- 
groes has been very great : — a large proportion of the 
Negroes in his old church can recite both Willison's and 
the Westminster catechism very accurately." 



84 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

The names of many other pastors in the South might 
be given, who have conscientiously and lor a series of 
years, devoted much time to the religious instruction of 
the Negroes connected with their churches. 

TJic Rev. James Smylie and Rev. John L. Montgom- 
ery were appointed by the synod of Mississippi in 1839 
to write or compile a catechism for the instruction of the 
Negroes. The manuscript was presented to synod in 
October 1840 and put into the hands of a committee of 
revision, but it has not yet been published. 

The table on the state of the churches of the Sunbu- 
ry Baptist Association, Georgia, gives six Tl/r/caw chur- 
ches with a total of members of 3,987, as returned ; one 
of these churches did not return the number of commu- 
nicants. Of the other churches in the table, five have 
an overwhelming majority of colored members. The 
three African churches in Savannah are all connected 
with this association. In the appendix to the minutes it 
is said, " The committee, to whom was referred brother 
Sweat's letter on the subject of a mission among the Af- 
rican churches report — that it is highly important that 
such a mission should be established and recommend 
that the subject be turned over to the executive commit- 
tee, with instructions that the brethren engaged in that 
work, during llie past year, be compensated for their ser- 
vices: your committee further recommend that brother 
Connor be employed as a missionary by the association, 
provided, he will devote half his time to the colored peo- 
ple." And again: " That the table showing the state 
of the churches, may be more correct than the present, 
it is requested that at the next meeting of the association, 
the church clerks will distinguish in their reports, be- 
tween the white and colored members, and that such 



niSTOKICAL SKETCH. 85 

churches as send no delegates will forward a statement 
of their condition." 

"jNIissions to the people of color," are noticed in the 
annual report of the missionary society of the M. E. 
Church, in 1S40. The report thus speaks. "And surely 
those who devote themselves to the self-sacrificing work 
of preaching the Gospel to these people on the rice and 
sugar plantations of the South and South-west, are no 
Jess deserving the patroriage of the missionary society 
than those who labor for the same benevolent object in 
other portions of the great work. Of these there are, 
chiefly in the Southern conferences, 12,402 members 
under the patronage of this society." — Report p. 23. 

1841. The report of the same society for this year, 
refers also to ^^ missions to the colored population.''^ 
*' In no portion of our work are our missionaries called 
to endure greater privations or make greater sacrifices 
of health and life, than in these missions among the 
slaves, many of which are located in sections of the 
Southern country which are proverbially sickly, and 
under the fatal influence of a climate which few white 
men are capable of enduring even for a single year. 
And yet. notwithstanding so many valuable missionaries 
have fallen martyrs to their toils in these missions, year 
after year there are found others to take their places, who 
fall likewise in their work, 'ceasing at once to work and 
live.' Nor have our superintendents any difliculty in 
finding missionaries ready to fill up the ranks which 
death has thinned in these sections of the work ; fur the 
love of Christ and the love of the souls of these poor 
Africans in bonds, constrain our brethren in the itinerant 
work of the Southern conferences to exclaim, 'here 
are we, send us!' The Lord be praised for the zeal 
8 



86 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

and success of our brethren in this self-denying and self- 
sacrificing work." 

The missionary society of the S. C. conference, re- 
ported this year, of missions exclusively to the Negroes, 
14; plantations served, 301 ; mernhers, (5,145 ; children 
under catechetical instruction, 3,407; and missiona.ies, 
IS. The iepr>rt gives an animated ai.d clieering view of 
the pro!-pects of these missions. The great object of 
the society in them is thus expressed. " So" to preach 
this Gospel that it may be believed ; and being believed, 
iTiay prove 'the power of God unto salvation,' is the 
great object, and, we repeat it, the sole object of our 
ministrations among the blacks. Tliis object attained, 
we find the terminus of our anxieties and toils, of our 
preaching and prayers." — Report -pp. 12 — 17. 

The total of colored communicants in the Methodist 
connection is ^iven in the minutes of the annual confer- 
ences for the years 1840, 1841. For 1S40, 94,532; for 
1841, 102,158. The South Carolina conference is 
ahead of all, having 30,481 ; next comes the Baltimore 
conference, 13,904 ; then the Georgia conference, 9,989 ; 
Philadelphia, 8,778; Kentucky, 6,321, and soon. — Min. 
p. 156. 

The Sunbury association reported this year seven 
African churches, with 4,430 members ; (from one no 
returns:) adding to this number the returns from the mixed 
churches of white and black, and an estimate of some 
from which no returns were made, a total of 5,664 col- 
ored members is obtained. Appendix B: '■'■Resolved, 
That the committee be authorized to offer a sum not 
exceeding $50 per month, for one or more ordained 
ministers to labor among the colored people and desti- 
tute churches within the bounds of this association." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 81 

Bishop Meade! of V;i. made a report to the convention 
of his diocese "on the best means of promntinfr the 
religions instruction of servants," the result of his ex- 
tended observation and long experience in this depart- 
ment of labor. 

Bishop Gadsden of S. C. devotes :i considerable pnt- 
tion of his :.d<lress to the convention, to the siiltject of 
the religio'.is instrtirtion of the Negroes. lie thus 
speaks. '* Of that class j)fculiur to our social system — 
the colored |)coplc — many are members of our church ; 
as are ih'e mastcjs of a very large number of them who 
as yet are not converted to the Gospel- To make these 
fellow creatures, who share with us tlio precious redemp- 
tion wtiich is by Josus Christ, good Christians, is a pur- 
pose of which this church is not and never has been 
regardless. The interest and efforts in this cause have 
increased. But the feeling ought to be much deeper, 
and ihc efTorts more extended. Consider the largo 
number who are yet almost, if not entirely, wiliiout the 
restraints, the incentives, the consolations, and the h.opcs 
of th<' Gos|iel ; under the bondage of salan, on the pre- 
cipice of the second death! 1 speak more particularly 
of those the smf)ke of whose cabins is in sight of rur 
ministers; who live on the same |)lanlations with mem- 
bers of our church. Can nothing, ought not every thing 
that can, l)e done to bring such persons to the knowledge 
and iibedience of Christ?" 

There are 31 parochial reports. In twenty-two of 
the thirty-(me ciuirchcs there are colored members, 
amounting to 869. In fifteen there are Sabbalh schools 
for colored children, amoimting to 1,450 scholirs. Eight 
of the clergy preach on plantalions as well as at their 
respective churches and give special attention to their 



88 RELIGIOUS INSTCUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

colored congregations ; and there are two missions to 
the Negroes, embracing 1,400 in the congregations. 
Cljildren catechised on the plantations. 

The practice of the Episcopal church in this diocese 
cannot be too highly' commended to those who are of 
similar failh in the matter referred to, which is the hap- 
tisvi of the infants and children of Negroes who are 
members of the church. When God established his 
visible church on earth he constituted the infant seed of 
believers members of it, and therefore commanded that 
the sign and seal of his gracious covenant should be 
applied to them. His church has ever remained the 
same ; the members the same ; under the same consti- 
tution. Our practice ought to conff)rm to our faith ; to 
the plain teachings of the word of God. A recurrence to 
this subject will be necessary when the means and plans 
for the religious instruction of the Negroes come under 
consideration in the fourth part of this work, and I 
therefore dismiss it in this ])]ace. There were 159 col- 
ored children baptized in the churches of (he diocese, 
by the parochial reports. — Journal of Fifly-secund 
Convention, pp. 10 — 13, and pp. 33 — 48. 

From the seventh annual report of the Libert}' County 
Association for the religious instruction of the Negroes, 
it appears that the efforts of the Association during the 
year had been successfid. There were 450 children and 
youth imder catechetical instruction; and adding /owr 
schools not immediately under the care of the Associa- 
tion, but conducted by members of il, there were 265 
more. Seven Sabbath schools in all were relumed, and 
three stations fur preaching. Congregations during the 
year full and attentive; general order of the people 
commendable. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 69 

Apprnded lo this report is tho address to the Associ- 
ation, by the president, the Rev. Josiah Spry Law. 
An address which received the cordial and unanimous 
approbation of the Association as one which placed the 
religious instruction of the Negroes in a clear light, as 
the great duty of their owners ; as well as of the cinirches. 
It was believed by tho Association th.at the address was 
calculated to exert a favorable influence wherever it 
should be circulated in our country and it was there- 
fore, with the consent of the author ordered to be 
printed. 

Having now presented such facts and information 
under eacti year of this period, as I have been able to 
collect, I shall now give a summary (and a very brief 
one) of the action of ecclesiastical bodies, and of what 
has been, done by different denominations of christians. 

I know of no action of ecclesiastical bodies on the 
great subject of the religious instruction of the Negroes, 
in the/ree States, at least of no very prominent action ; 
altho' efforts have been made by benevolent individuals 
and societies, for their physical, intellectual and moral 
improvement in most of the cities and chief towns of 
the free States, and not without success. These efforts 
came into notice about the beginning of the period now 
under consideration. Children and youth were gathered 
into week day and Sabbath schools : improvements 
were made in their houses for public worship, and some 
permanent supplies obtained for their pulpits. Distres- 
sed families and orphans were sought out and visited and 
taken care of, and persons out of employment were as- 
sisted in obtaining it. But a small part however of the 
entire population was reached and permanently benefit- 
ed, as I had occasion to know from personal observation 
8* 



90 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

in 1827 and in 1829 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New York, Kevv Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
For example, I found them in Providence, Rhode Island, 
with almost none to care for their souls, "With a few 
respectable exceptions, they inhabited the most cast- 
away, decayed and debauched parts of the town, and 
were as deep in poverty, idleness, improvidence and 
immorality as can well be imagined. I saw two, three 
and four, and sometimes even more families occupying 
the different rooms and stories of one house. The Ne- 
gro quarters of Boston, New York and Philadelphia 
presented pretty much the same features. My observa- 
tions repeated again in the spring and summer of 1839 
convinced me that there was abundant room for the im- 
provement of the Negroes of the free States, and more- 
over, that the practical interest among the whites in their 
religious instruction was not remarkable. But to pro- 
ceed , Dr. Anderson of Boston informed me while on a 
visit to that city in 1839 " that the present generation 
of Negroes who had enjoyed the advantages of educa- 
tion were in advance of those that had preceded them, 
and were getting into respectable employments; and 
that very considerable efforts had been made on their 
behalf." The Rev. Samuel S. Jocelyn has been for 
many years an indefatigable laborer, foi the moral and 
religious improvement of the Negroes in New Haven. 
Professor Maclean showed me a neat house of Avorship 
erected by himself in conjunction with other benevolent 
individuals, for the Negroes in Princeton, New Jersey. 
There are houses of public worship exclusively for 
the Negroes in all the cities of the free Slates, where 
there numbers make it an object, and the pulpits are 
supplied by ministers of their own color, and some of 



HI3T0RICAL SKETCH. 91 

them educated men of highly respectable talents and 
standing, sometimes they are supplied by white minis- 
ters. There are Sabbath schools for the instruction of 
children and youth, supported and taught ciiiefly by 
white persons. For example, " in Portland, Maine, the 
colored population is about 400. They have one Con- 
gregational church, and an educated colored pastor, and 
a Sabbdth school conducted by white teachers." 

It is not necessary to go into an enumeration of the 
houses of public worship in Boston, New York, Phila- 
delphia and other places. In country towns and villages, 
the Negroes have scats appropriated to them in the white 
churches. They are of difierent denominations. Epis- 
copal, Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian. 

Of late years the Negroes in the free States have man- 
ifested a strong inclination to be independent of the 
influence and control of the whites, and to create and 
manage their ecclesiastical establishments in their own 
way; a very natural inclination, and not to be wondered 
at, nor objected against, provided, they are capable of 
taking care of themselves, which however, many of their 
warmest friends not only seriously doubt hut wholly deny. 
As a specimen of this disposition I would refer to the 
secession of Richard Allen and his associates in Phila- 
delphia, from the Methodist church, which secession 
extended into New York and other states. Of this se- 
cession in New York, Dr. Bangs thus writes, " it is now 
(1839) twenty years since this secession took place, and 
the degree of their prosperity may be estimated from 
the following statement of their number of circuits and 
stations, preachers and members taken from their min- 
utes for 1839. Circuits 21, preachers 32, members 2,608. 
These circuits and stations are found in the states of 



92 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and 
Massachusetts. In the city of New York where the 
secession originated they have a membership of 1,325, 
making an increase of 396 in twenty years, which is by 
no means in a ratio with their increase while they re- 
mained under the care of their white brethien. In the 
city of Boston however, their success has been greater 
in proportion, In 1819 they hid only 33, but now, in 
1839 they have 126. As the M. E. Church never deri- 
ved any temporal emolument from them, so we have 
sustained no other damage by the secession than what 
may arise from missing the opportunity of doing them all 
the good in our power as tlieir pastors, etc." 

In the slave Slates there has been action in ecclcsias- 
tical bodies on the religious instruction of the Negroes, 
and the value of sucli action is, that it discovers a good 
disposition on the part of ministers and churches to 
fulfil their duty to this people. 

The Episcopal church, has rather taken the lead in 
making efforts and in keeping up ati interest in its own 
bosom. Bishop Meade of Virginia, a long and unweari- 
ed advocate of this cause. Bishop Ives of North Carolina : 
Bishop Bowen of South Carolina (before his decease) 
and the present bishop of that State, Dr. Gadsden, have 
each addressed their dioceses on this subject; and com- 
mended it to the clergy and laity. The subject has been 
discussed in their conventions, accompanied with some 
able reports. Many of the clergy devote time to the 
instruction of the Negroes attached to their congrega- 
tions ; and have regular and flourishing Sabbath schools. 
It is stated as a fact, that in the Episcopal churches gen- 
erally in South Carolina there are Sabbath schools for 
the Negroes, and some of them large and flourishing. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 93 

There are several Episcopal missionaries to this people 
in the Slate. The churches in Charleston have always 
been active in the instruction of the Negroes ; and the 
present hishop, Dr. Gadsden, has been long known as 
an advocate of the work. The lately elected bisliop of 
Georgia, Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., has brought the 
subject before his convention in his '■'■'primary address,'''' 
(1841,) and urged attention to it vviih an energy and a 
zeal which promise great blessings to the Negroes con- 
nected with the churches of his new and interesting 
diocese. The Negroes connected with the Episcopal 
church have generally been noted for intelligence and 
fidelity. 

The Methodists perhaps do not yield in interest and 
efforts to any denomination. From the commencement 
of their church in tlie United States, they have paid at- 
tention to the Negroes ; of whicli we have had ample 
proof in the progress ol this Sketch. In the slave Stales 
they have, ne.xt to the Baptists, the largest number of 
communicants. The Negroes are brought under the 
same church regulations as the whiles, having class 
leaders and class-meetings and exhorters; and cases of 
church discipline, are carefully reported and acted upon 
as the discipline requires. The number of Negro com- 
municants is reported at their conferences, as well as 
labors in their behalf and where it is necessary travel- 
ing preachers are directed to pay attention to them. In 
the South Carolina conference the missionary society 
already referred to, has a field of operations among the 
Negroes along the seaboard, from North Carolina to the 
southern counties of Georgia. The missionaries of this 
society labor chiefly on river bottoms, and in districts 
where the Negro population is large and the white popu- 



94 RELIGIOUS INSTHUCTION OF THE NEGROE3. 

lation small : cind, it is understood, receive most of their 
support from tlie phiulers themselves, whose plaulaliona 
they serve. We know of no other niissioiinry society in 
this denomination so fully devoted to this pnriicular 
field : but there are Motl.odisl missionaries for the Ne- 
groes, in Tennessee, i\lississip[)i, and Alabama, and olher 
of the slave-holdiufr states. Without doubt as (he Lord 
has opened wide the door of usefidness to ti\is denomi- 
nation, among the Negroes, it will not fail to e\ert itself 
to the utmost. Bishop J. O. Andrew, whose circuit is in 
the Souihern States, has taken up the subject in good 
earnest and is prosecuting it with energy and success. 

Tilt Baptists have no societies in existence expressly 
for evangelizing thu Negroes ; altliough their associa- 
tions and conventions do from time to time call up the 
subject and act upon it. There are more Negro com- 
municants, and niore churches regularly conslituied, ex- 
clusively of Negroes, with their own regular houses of 
public worsliip, and with ordained Negro preacherSj 
attached to this denomination than to any other denom- 
ination in the United Stales. 

It is difficult to collect the direct efforts of this de- 
nomination for the instruction of Necrroes, as the reports 
of the associations are not easily obtained, they being 
printed and circulated chiefly within their respective 
bounds. If investigation was carefully made it niight 
be found that in many of the associations of this denom- 
ination as much allention is paid to the instruction of the 
Negroes, as in the Sunbury association, Georgia, already 
referred to. There are missionaries in destitute setile- 
ments who devote a portion of their lime to this people. 
Perhaps in most of the chief towns in the South there 
are houses of public worship erected for the Negroes 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 95 

alone; there are three, for example, in the city of Sa- 
vannah. A year or two since I preached to the Baptist 
Negroes in Petersbiirc, Va., in their own house of wor- 
ship, crowded to suflocntion. 

'1 he Presbyterians have had ecclesiastical action 
within the present period, in the synods of Virginia and 
Nortli C.iroliria ; South Carolina and Georgia ; Kentncky 
Mississippi, and Alabama ; and in preshytcri.^s in all these 
synods. Some presbyteries have distinguished them- 
selves by their zeal and activity in the instruction of the 
Negroes. 

It is unnecessary to transcribe the resolutions, reports 
and acts of these several bodies. Some have already 
met the eye of the reader. The latest and most general 
and satisfactory returns in our possession were gathered 
from the statements of members of the general assembly 
of 1839, from the slave-holding Stales, at a meeting 
called by themselves for the purpose of taking into con- 
sideration the religious instruction of the Negroes, and 
of communicating information and suggesting plans of 
operation. It will suffice to present the sum of the 
whole in a few words. 

In the synods of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, and West Tennessee, it is the practice of a 
number of ministers to preach to the Negroes separately 
once on the Sabbath, or during the week. There are 
also Sabbath schools in some of the churches for child- 
ren and adults; and in all the houses of worship, with 
but few exceptions, a greater or less number of colored 
members and Negroes form a portion of every Sabbath 
congregation. In portions of these synods the abolition 
excitement checked and in others materially retarded the 
work of instruction. 



96 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

In the synods of Alabama and Mississippi, almost all 
the ministers devote a portion of the Sabbath to the 
Negroes. There are two or three missionaries within 
the bounds of these synods, and some flourishing Sab- 
bath schools. Access in many parts of the two States 
may be had to the Negroes, of unlimited extent. The 
abolition excitement injured the cause. 

In the synod of South Carolina and Georgia many 
ministers preach to the Negroes separately on the Sab- 
bath or during the week, and maintain Sabbath schools; 
especially is this the fact, along the sea-board of the two 
Stales. The presbytery of Georgia has one missionary 
to the Negroes, and in the county where he labors, there 
are seven Sabbath schools connected with the Congrega- 
tional and Baptist churches, and upwards of 600 children 
and youth in a course of catechetical instruction. There 
are three stations for missionary preaching on the Sab- 
bath, occupied in rotation, and in addition, during the 
winter and spring, preaching on the plantations. There 
are colored members in all the churches in this synod, 
and accommodations for the Negroes in the houses of 
public worship ; the sessions conduct the discipline of 
the colored members in the same manner that they do 
the white; they are received into the churches, under 
the same form and partake of the ordinances at the same 
time. 

The ministers in the newly formed Presbytery of Flo- 
rida are devoting attention to this field of labor, dispers- 
ing information and preaching as opportunity offers. 

Such are the principal facts touching the religious 
instruction of the Negroes during the third Period, from 
1820 to 1842. And in view of them, as we close the 
Period, we feel warranted in considering it a period of 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 9? 

the revival of religion in respect to this particvlar 
duty, throughout the Southern States; more especially 
between the years 1829 and J 835. 

This revival came silently, extensively, and powerfully ; 
affecting masters, mistresses, ministers, members of the 
church, and ecclesiastical bodies of all the different 
evangelical denominations. Some local associations of 
planters were formed, and societies on a large scale con- 
templated, and one brought to perfect organization. 
Sermons were preached and pamphlets published; the 
daily press lent its aid; and manuals of instruction were 
prepared aud printed. Nor was there any opposition ot 
moment to the work, conducted by responsible individ- 
uals, identified in feeling and interest with the country. 
Some portions of the South were in advance of others, 
both in respect to the acknowledgement and performance 
of the great duty ; but the light was gradually diffusing 
itself every where. 

Such was the onward cour.sc of things when the 
excitement in the free States on the civil condition of 
the Negroes manifested itself in petitions to Congress, 
in the circulation of inflammatory publications, and other 
measures equally and as justly ol)noxious to the South ; 
all which had a disastrous influence on the success of 
the work we were attempting to do. The effect of the 
excitement was to turn oft' the attention of the South 
from the religious to the civil condition of the people 
in question ; and from the salvation of the soul, to the 
defence and preservation of political rights. The very 
foundations of society were assailed and men went forth 
to the defence. A tenderness was begotten in the pub- 
lic mind on the whole subject, and every movement 
touching the improvement of the Negroes was watched 
9 



98 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

with jealousy. Timid, ambitious, and factious men, and 
men hostile to religion itself, and men desirous of ward- 
ing off suspicion from themselves, agitated the public 
mind within our own borders. The result was, to 
arrest in many places efforts happily begun and success- 
fully prosecuted for the religious instruction of the Ne- 
groes. It was considered best to disband schools and 
discontinue meetings, atleast for a season ; the formation 
of societies and the action of ecclesiastical bodies, in 
some degree ceased. 

The feelings of men being excited, those who had 
undertaken the religions instruction of the Negroes were 
looked upon with suspicion and some of them were 
obliged to quit the field. It was not considered that a 
separation might be made between the religious and the 
civil condition and interests of a people; and that a 
minister could confine himself to the one without inter- 
fering at all with the other. This entire effect upon the 
slave States of the movements in the free States, con- 
sidering all circumstances, was natural, but it was wrong 
— wiong, because, let others act as they might, we 
should have gone forward and done what was obviously 
our duty. We could have done it ; for the whole arrange- 
ment of the religious instruction of the Negroes, as to 
teachers, times, places, matter and manner, was in our 
own poicer. And wrong again, because, admitting that 
the wishes of these professed friends of the Negroes 
were to be consummated, no better could be done for 
the Negroes, nor for ourselves, than to teach them their 
duly to God and man. The Gospel certainly hurts no 
man and no body of men. Parts of the Southern 
Country took such action as was deemed necessary, (if 
any at all,) calmly and decidedly, nor were any difficul- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 99 

ties thrown in the way of the regular course of religious 
instruction. A. missionary in the heart of three or four 
thousand Negroes, during the period of excitement, vis- 
ited plantations during the week, and met congregations 
on the Sahbalh varying from 150 to 500 persons; yet it 
cannot be denied that the Northern movements did sen- 
sibly affect the feeling in favor of the religious instruc- 
tion of the Negroes, throughout the whole slave-holding 
States, and the first and prominent cause of decline in 
the i-evival of which we speak, was unqueslional)ly those 
movements; and I mention the fact because the cause 
of that decline is sometimes inquired into. 

From information obtained by correspondence, and 
in other ways, there are favorable indications that a re- 
action has taken place within one or two years past ; 
and that, taking the country throughout, more religious 
instruction is communicated to the Negroes now than 
ever bef« re. The old friends of the cause for the most 
part retain their integrity, and labor on, while the Lord 
is impressing deeply the hearts and consciences of own- 
ers and is raising up many youth in the ministry and in 
the churches to carry forward the work more extensively. 

The third Period is now completed, and with it this 
Historical Sketch of the Religious Instruction of the 
Negroes, since their first introduction into this country 
to the present time. I shall add, in the conclusion, the 
following general observations : 

1. The Negro race has existed in our country for two 
hundred and twevty-iwo years ; in which time the Gos- 
pel has been brought within the rcacii of, and been com- 
municated to, multitudes; and tens of thousands of 
them have been converted, and have died in the hope 



100 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

of a blessed immortality. And there are at the present 
time, tens of thousands connected by a credible profes- 
sion, to the church of Christ ; and the Gospel is reach- 
ing them to a greater extent and in greater purity and 
power than ever before. 

2. "While there have been but few societies, and they 
limited in extent and influence, formed for the special 
object of promoting the moral and religious instruction 
of the Negroes ; and while there have been compara- 
tively but {ew missionaries exclusively devoted to them : 
yet they have not been altogether overlooked by their 
owners, nor neglected by the regular ministers of the 
various leading denominations of Christians, as the facts 
adduced in this Sketch testify. 

3. Yet it is a remarkable fact in the history of the 
Negroes in our Country that their regular, systematic 
religious instruction, has never received in the churches 
at any time, that general attention acd effort which it 
demanded ; and the people have consequently been left, 
both in the free and in the slave states, in great numbers, 
in moral darkness, and destitution of the means of grace. 

4. The great and good work, therefore, of the thor- 
ough religious instruction of our Negroes remains 
to he performed. 

The colored population of the United States in 1830 
was 2,009,043 slave and 319,599 free ; making a total 
of 2,328,642: by the last census, 1840, it was 2,487,113 
slave and 386,235 /ree, with a total of 2,873,348. This 
aggregate of 2,873,348, is certainly large enough to 
awaken our most serious attention, whether we view 
this" people in a religious or civil point of light. 

Their actual moral and religious condition, next 
claims our notice. 



PART II. 

The Moral and the Religious Condition of the Negroes 
in the United States. 



CHAPTER I. 

Disadvantages to be encour.tered in prosecuting an inquiry into the 
Moral and Religious condition of the Negroes in the United States. 

A knowledge of the moral and religious condition of 
the Negroes is essential to correct feeling and action 
thereto. Until we arrive at such knowledge and have it 
pressed upon our serious consideration, we shall have 
no just sense of obligation — we shall feel no criminality 
for past neglect — no disposition for future amendment : 
nor shall we be able to adopt plans for their improve- 
ment, as we must necessarily become acquainted with 
the nature and extent of a disease before we can hope- 
fully prescribe for it. 

That an inquiry into the moral and religious condition 
of the Negro population of the United States, may be 
prosecuted with success, admits of no question. And 
yet, whether we live at the North or at the South, not- 
withstanding we enjoy favorable advantages for the 
inquiry, we certainly labor under some very serious 
9* 



102 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

disadvantages, which threaten to impair the faithfulness 
with which it should be prosecuted and answered. Nay, 
these disadvantages may exert such an influence upon 
some, that admitting- the inquiry to be prosecuted and 
answered according to truth, they may withhold assent. 
These disadvantages therefore demand consideration. 
They arise, in general, out of our intimate and long 
continued connection with this people. 

Habits of feeling and prejudices in relation to any 
subject are wont to take their rise out of our education 
or circumstances. Every man knovvs their influence to 
be great in shaping opinions and conduct, and ofttimes 
how unwittingly they are formed ; that while we may 
be unconscious of their existence they may grow with 
our growth and strengthen with our strength. Famili- 
arity converts deformity into comeliness. Hence we 
are not always the best judges of our condition. An- 
other may remark inconveniences and indeed real evils 
in it, of which we may be said to have been all our 
lives scarcely conscious. So also evils which upon first 
acquaintance revolted our whole nature and appeared 
intolerable, custom almost makes us forget even to see. 
Men passing out of one state of society into another 
encounter a thousand things to which they feel that they 
can never be reconciled ; yet shortly after, their sensi- 
bilities become dulled — a change passes over them they 
scarcely know how — they have accommodated them- 
selves to their new circumstances and relations — they 
are Romans in Rome. 

That the people of the United States indulge preju- 
dices in respect to the Negroes, both in favor of and 
adverse to them, as a distinct variety of the human 
family and as a subordinate class in society, is a fact not 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 103 

to be disguised. On the one hand their ignorance, vul- 
garity, idleness, improvidence, irreligion, and vice, are 
to be ascribed altogether to their position and circum- 
stances ; let these be changed for the better, and the 
African will immediately equal, if not greatly excel, the 
rest of the human family in majesty of intellect, ele- 
gance of manners, purity of morals and ardor of piety; 
yea, they vi^ill become the very beau ideal of character, 
the admiration of the world. On the other hand, the 
race has been from time immemorial just what it is and 
just what it must continue to be. It occupies the posi- 
tion designed for it in nature and Providence, and no 
changes and no efforts can ever, on the whole, alter it 
for the better. Prejudices, also, lie all along between 
these extreme oscillations of opinion. Happy is that 
mind which under gales of excitement and conflicting 
with waves of agitation, preserves its balance, and keep- 
ing its eye upon the truth, steadily advances towards it. 
It may be likened to the well adjusted compass, which 
noiselessly preserves its equilibrium, and faithfully points 
to the star, although the mountain waves roar and the 
ship is driven with the fierce winds and tossed. 

The first disadvantage which I shall mention is our 
intimate knowledge of the degraded moral character 
of the Negroes, 

From childhood we have been accustomed to their 
slovenly, and too frequently, their scanty dress; to their 
broken English, ignorance, vulgarity, and vice. What 
in them would disgust or grieve a stranger, or truly 
afllict us if seen in white persons, we pass by with little 
or no impression, as a matter of course; — they are 
Negroes. Their character is held in low estimation, 
throughout the United States ; and, considering what it 



104 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

is, not without reason ; for that character cannot be 
esteemed which in itself is not estimable. Whatever is 
idle, dissolute, criminal, and worthless, attaches to them. 
Unconsciously, or rather, instinctively, we determine 
what the fruits must be from their known character, 
condition, and circumstance? ; and when they do appear, 
we are not surprised. We say, " what better can be 
expected? " 

Such a general corruption of morals as would blast 
the reputation of any white community, is known to 
exist among them ; and yet how unaffected are we by it ? 
Indeed, the habit of our mind is to consider them in a 
state of moral degradation ; to expect little that is truly 
excellent and praiseworthy; and to feel lightly, and to 
pass over as well as we can, what is revolting in them. 
We are disposed not to try them as we would others by 
that standard which is holy, just, and good ; but by a 
low and worldly standard, accommodated to their char- 
acter and circumstances. Vice seems to lose its hide- 
ousness in proportion as it shades itself in black ; as in 
painting, with black we obliterate the warm light and 
soft shades, and native hues, which gave depth and life 
and beauty to the picture, and the eye rests upon the 
dark, dead surface without emotion. 

A second disadvantage is our difference of color, 
and our superior relations to them in society. 

At the head of the varieties of the human race, stands 
the fair, or Caucassian variety ; "which," to use the 
language of another, " has given birth to the most civil- 
ized nations of ancient and modern times, and has ex- 
hibited the moral and intellectual powers of human 
nature in their highest degree of perfection." At the 
foot, stands the black or Ethiopian variety, " which has 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITTOX. 1 05 

ever remained in a rude and barbarous state ; and been 
looked upon and treated as inferior by all the other 
varieties of the human race, from time immemorial." 

There is superiority on the one hand and inferiority 
on the other. Ascribe it to whatever cause you may ; 
whether to the immediate providence of God, or to 
nature itself — to a difference in original constitution, or 
to circumstances ; the fact remains, and it can but be 
seen and felt. It is only with the fact, and its influence 
on us, that we have to do. We learn the fact in our 
elementary studies at school ; a larger acquaintance 
with the history of the world and extensive observation 
in after life, impress it more deeply. A sense of this 
superiority is hereditary in the citizens of the free 
States; originally and not very long ago these States 
were slave States. It has been propagated from father 
to son, and exhibits itself in the manners and customs, 
and on all the face of society there. It may be wearing 
out, but very slowly. 

What renders the superiority more palpable and influ- 
ential in our case in the So.th, is that we still continue 
to maintain the relation of master, and all the differ- 
ences in our standing, privileges, and circumstances in 
society, created by that relation, in custom and in law. 
There is, consequently, sup 'rioiity on the one side and 
inferiority on the other, in almost every point of view. 
But as we are masters, so are we managers. They 
neither can nor will plan and execute their work by 
directions alone. We are compelled to see that they do 
their work. Neither will they act honestly, quietly, nor 
virtuously, left to themselves, we are again compelled to 
regulate their conduct by fixed laws : to warn, encour- 
age, reward, and punish. Hence are we brought directly 



106 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

in contact with their depravity in its multiplied devel- 
opements. We are astonished from time to time at the 
disclosure of their duplicity, dishonesty, trick, and cun- 
ning. Those only who have, or have had, the manage- 
ment of Negroes, know what the hardening effect is 
upon their own hearts. That man who takes possession 
of his property ;tnd commences the management of his 
people with that feeling of interest and tenderness which 
he has cherished for tl^em from his childhood, and with 
a willingness to favor them in every way, must be watch- 
ful ; otherwise, from their general character and beha- 
viour, painfully exhibited to him, he will withihaw his 
confidence entirely and settle down into a state of indif- 
ference, his patience being exhausted and his feelings 
having undergone an entire change towards them. 

Throw then these points together : we belong to dis- 
tinct varieties of tlie human race, with the superiority on 
our side ; a superiority rendered inore ajxparent by the 
relation which we sustain to them as masters, and more 
real, both to them and us, when we become managers ; 
and shall we be in no danger of cherishing, it may be, 
of cherishing unconsciously, a disrespect, if not a con- 
tempt for the Negroes, which may influence us to sink 
them lower in the scale of intelligence, morality and re- 
ligion, than in truth and justice they should be ? 

A third disadvantage is our latent, and in many in- 
stances manifest disinclination to the full disclosure of 
the moral and religious condition of the Negroes. 

The disinclination is in proportion to theuse proposed 
to be made of the facts of the case, and arises from seve- 
ral causes. 

One is pride. There are citizens in the free States 
who give, perhaps without any conscious design, an en- 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 107 

tirely false colorii)or to the moral character and pros- 
pects of the free Negroes among them, in order to sup- 
port some favorite theory, or to shield the impotency of 
their own efforts, or themselves, from the ancient re- 
proach " what do ye more than others? Physician heal 
thyself." 

In the South we spiritedly repel the charge of the in- 
justice of the present constitution of society, by referring 
our opponents to the sacred scriptures, which afford us 
their support, and to the argument drawn from expediency 
and necessity. On the charge of inhumanity we appeal 
to the ample provision of food and clothing ; to the 
attention paid to the sick and the aged; to the lightness 
of the labor and the punishments; and to the good health, 
the spirits, and increase of the people in question. We 
compare their physical comfort and the amount of labor 
which they perform, with that of the laboring classes in 
England and on the continent of Europe, and elsewhere, 
and we do not suffer at all by the comparison. 

But when the charge of their intellectual and moral 
degradation is preferred against us, we are inclined to 
put the best face on affairs, knowing that this is the 
darkest feature and the most vulnerable point. We dis- 
cover this feeling in the class of factory and land owners 
in England, whose statements on the moral condition of 
their operatives cannot be taken but with many grains 
of allowance. They would not have it known to what 
an ignorant and degraded race of operatives they are 
indebted for the comforts and conveniences of their 
lives as individuals, and for whatever of prosperity they 
enjoy as corpor:(tions or communities. 

But we are wrong, decidedly wrong. The moral and 
religious condition of the Negroes, is that subject which 



108 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

above ail others, as a Christian people, we should desire 
most thoroughly to investigate and understand ; and the 
truth coming from whatever quarter, will do us no harm, 
provided we allow it to have its proper effect upon us. 

Another cause is the fear of investigation itself, and 
of the consequences to which it may lead. 

The South, in view of the excitement on the general 
condition of the Negroes, in the North and West, has 
become sensitive. We have been thrown from necessity 
into an attitude of self-defence, and our strength consists 
in our union. Hence the public mind exercises a sleep- 
less vigilance, that it may detect, either from abroad or 
originating at home, any sentiments or opinions hostile 
to our social constitution. There is less discussion, and 
less freedom of discussion, than in by-gone days. What 
we once bore from ourselves, is with difficulty borne now. 
That man runs the risk of losing popular favor whose 
candid statements and appeals, designed to do good at 
home, are seized upon with avidity, and perverted and 
made matter of accusation against us from abroad. He 
has to pass between Scjlla and Charybdis. Under such 
circumstances there must be a strong inclination to 
silence ; he will ponder well the proverb, " a time to keep 
silence, and a time to speak." As great interests are 
involved, should he speak, he will '* ask wisdom of God 
whogiveth liberally and upbraideth not." 

Many are disposed to let all things continue as they 
are, and as they have been. There appears to be a 
misgiving that if we look diligently into the moral and 
religious condition of the Negroes, we shall make such 
discoveries that in order to satisfy conscience toward 
God and man, we shall be obliged to enter fully and 
vigorously upon the improvement of our people. New 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 109 

cares, new troubles, new duties, new expenses array 
themselves before us, and we recoil from them all. 
Changes are inconvenient, even from bad to good. 
Masters find it difficult to elevate their servants in their 
regards after they have for so long a time been depressed. 
To change their general course of treatment would be 
virtually acknowledging to theuj and to all the world that 
ihey have been in error; that they have not placed them 
as high ill the scale of intellectual and moral being as 
they should have done; in short, that they have not done 
them justice. Humility and self-denial are demanded, 
but it is not easy to exercise these graces towards inferiors 
and dependents. Masters see, as they suppose, in all 
this, a lowering down of opinions, character, and dignity. 
They think that they shall lose respect and authority — 
the change will certainly inflate their servants, foster a 
spirit of rquality and disobedience, and in the end be 
productive of no good. 

There are others again, to whom the question recurs, 
how far may we proceed in the religious instruction of 
the Negroes without endangering our interests, our safety, 
and our support? Say they, we know not when we 
begin to do what may be iiecessary in the premises, 
where we shall end or how. It will be hard to close the 
door after it is once opened. We may safely confide in 
those who undertake the work now ; but what security 
have we that their successors shall be men of like char- 
acter! It is better, therefore, to cease from the matter 
before it be meddled with. Their moral and religious 
condition may not be as bad as some would have us 
believe. We have been doing well in times past; apply 
then the adage to the case in hand, " let •u^eZZ alone," 
10 



ilO RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

A fourth and last disadvantage, is the difficulty of 
ohtaining an insight into the Negro character. 

Persons live and die in the midst of Negroes and know 
comparatively little of their real character. They have 
not tlie immediate nianngement of them. They have to 
tlo with them in the ordinary discharge of their duty as 
servants; further than this they institute no inquiries — 
they give themselves no trouble. The Negroes are a 
distinct class in community, and keep themselves very 
much to themselves. They are one thing before the 
Vvhites, and another before their own color. Deception 
towards the former is characteristic of them, whether 
bond or free, throughout the whole United States. It is 
habit — a long established custom, which descends from 
generation to generation. There is an upper and an 
under current. Some are contented with the appearance 
on the surface ; others dive beneath. Hence the diver- 
sity of impressions and representations o( the moral and 
religious condition of the Negroes. Hence the disposi- 
tion of some to deny the darker pictures of their more 
searching and knowing friends. 

Besides all this, the moral perceptions of men dift'er* 
the eye of one man is " single," and the eye of another 
man is " evil." What this esteems bad that considers to 
be very good. 

Nor have all the same opportunity of assisting their 
judgement by comparison. A man may greatly aid 
himself in attaining a correct opinion of the moral and 
religious condition of the Negroes in the United States, 
and especially of those in the slave Stales, by becoming 
from observation acquainted with the moral and religious 
condition of other masses of laborers, in other States 
and countries. It is not good to measure ourselves by 



MORAL AXD RELIGIOUS CONDITXOX. l\\ 

ourselves. One opportunity of faithful comparison, will 
shed more light and carry more conviction into the mind, 
ofttitnes, than volumes of facts and arguments. The 
only danger to be apprehended from such comparisons, 
is that, becoming acquainted with that which is worse, 
we may rest satisfied with that which is bad. 

Here then are obvious disadvantages to be encountered 
in an inquiry into the moral and religious condition of 
the Negroes. The first, our intimate knowledge of their 
degraded character; the second, our belonging to a 
different variety of the human family and sustaining 
towards them the relation of superiors ; the third, our 
disinclination to a full disclosure oi* their n>oral and 
religious condition, arising from several causes; and the 
fourth, the difficulty of obtaining an insight into the 
Negro character. They must be borne in mind in the 
progress of the inquiry. In regard to the moral and 
religious condition of the Negroes we, especially of the 
South, can have no just reason for remaining in ignorance 
and inactivity. The subject involves our accountability 
to them and for them, which we shall surely meet in that 
world where all earthly distinctions are at an end ; and it 
involves their own eternal well-being, than which nothing 
can be more valuable to them. Every sober and reflecting 
rriind should be impressed with the importance and 
solemnity of the inquiry. 



112 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 



CHAPTER II, 



Circumstances of the Negroes which affect their Moral and ReligioHS 
Condition. 

The character of a people may be galhered from their 
circumstances. A consideration therefore of the circum • 
stances in which we find our Negro population, is a 
necessary and preparatory step to the inquiry we have in 
hand. 

1. The circumstances of the Slave Population. 

As habits of virtue and vice are formed, and character 
shaped, at a very early age, I shall begin with — 

The Negro in his Childhood. — The formation of 
good character depends upon family government and 
training; upon religious instruction, private and public; 
access to the Scriptures and other sources of intellectual 
and moral improvement; the character of associates; 
modesty of clothing, and general mode of living. 

If we take the mass of the slave population, properly 
speaking, we shall find but little family govern?nent, 
and for the reason that parents are not qualified. neither are 
they so circumstanced as to be able to fulfil perfectly the 
duties devolving upon them as such. In the more intel- 
ligent and pious families, the children are taught to say 
their prayers, to go to church on the Sabbath, to attend 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITON. 113 

evening prayers on the plantJilion, and a few simple 
rules of good conduct and manners. The majority of 
churcli members, come short of this. The moral train- 
ing of their children forms but a small part of their 
eflbrt in the family. There is not one fiimily in a thous- 
and in which family prayer is observed morning and 
evening. Prayers are held in some families morning 
and evening on the Sabbath day ; in others in the evening 
of every day. But a general meeting of all the mem- 
bers of the church as well as of worldly persons, for 
prayer in the evening on plantations, conducted by 
jome prominent person among them, tnkes tlie place of 
family worship — the plantation is considered one largo 
family. To this meeting children are required to come 
or not, as the case may be. The hour is usually so late 
that most of the children have retired foi the night. If 
such is the state of religious families what must be the 
state of those which are irreligious? In multitudes of 
families, both b\' precept and example, the children are 
(.rained up in iniquity ; taught by their parents to steal, 
to lie, to deceive ; nor can the rod of correction induce 
a confession or revelation of their clearly ascertained 
transgressions. Virtue is not cherished nor protected 
in them. Parents put their children to use as early as it is 
possible, and their discipline mainly respects omissions 
of duty in the household ; moral delinquencies are 
passed by ; and that discipline owes its chief efficiency 
to excited passion, and consequently exists in the extreme 
of laxity or severity. They ofttimes when under no 
restraint, beat their children unmercifully. 

As to direct religious instruction, we have seen that 
the amount communicated in families is small. The 
Negroes on plantations sometimes appoint one of their 
10* 



1 14 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

number, coramonly the old woman who minds the child- 
ren during the day, to teach them to say their prayers, 
repeat a little catechism and a few hymns, every evening. 
The instances are however not fiequent, and it is the 
only approximation I have ever known to systematic 
instruction for their children, adopted by the Negroes 
themselves. 

But how much religious instruction do the young 
Negroes receive from their Masters, who sustain very 
much the relation of parents to them ? What is the 
number of planters who have established plantation 
schools? In other words, who have commenced a sys- 
tem of regular instruction for their Negro children ; 
conducting themselves that instruction daily or weekly, 
or engaging the services of members of their own fam- 
ilies, or even going to the expense of employing mis- 
sionaries for the purpose ? 

Push the inquiry still further. How many ministers 
assemble, at stated seasons, the colored children of their 
congregations for catechetical instruction, exhortation, 
and prayer? How many churches have established 
Sabbath schools at convenient stations in the country, 
or in towns and villages, for colored children and youth, 
and do maintain them from year to year? To all these 
questions it must in candor be replied that the numbers 
are small compared with the whole. 

Shall we speak of public instruction such as is com- 
municated by a p?'cac/ie(Z Gospel? Negro children do 
not enjoy the advantages of a preached Gospel ; for the 
custom is, where no effort is made to alter it, for the 
children to remain at home on the Sabbath. Multitudes 
never having been taught to " remember the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy," consider it in the light, purely, of 



• MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 1 15 

a holyday ; — a day of rest, of sports, and plays. The 
distance to the house of worship is frequently consider- 
able, too considerable for the attendance of small child- 
ren ; parents do not like the trouble of children; and, 
in short, should iheir children accompany them, the 
services being conducted for the most part for the special 
benefit of masters, do them no good, being above not 
only their comprehension, but even that of their parents. 

Shall we speak of access tu the Scriptures 1 The 
statutes of our respective slave States foibid all know- 
ledge of letters to the Negroes; and where the statutes 
do not custom does. It is impossible to form an esti- 
mate of the number of Negroes that read. My belief 
is that the proportion would be expressed by an almost 
inconceivable fraction. The greatest number of readers 
is found in and about towns and cities, and among the 
free Negro population, some two or three generations 
removed from servitude. There are perhaps in all the 
larger cities in the South, schools for the education of 
colored children, supported chiefly by ihc free Negroes, 
and kept generally in the shade. On the one hand, 
therefore, the Negro children cannot be "hearers of the 
law," for oral instruction is but sparingly afi'orded to the 
mass of them; and on the other, they cannot "search 
the Scriptures," for a knowledge of letters they have 
not, and legally, ihry cannot obtain. 

With whom is the young Negro associated? With 
children no better instructed and disciplined than himself, 
and the whole subjected to the pernicious examples of 
the adults. They are favored with no association cal- 
culated to elevate and refine. 

Negroes, especially the children, are exceedingly 
inattentive to the preservation of their clothing. The 



i 16 UELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

]iabils, in the particular of dress, of their forefathers 
from Africa slill cleave to them, especially in the warmer 
seasons of the year, when they are left to themselves. 
This very improvidence on the part of the Negroes 
presents an increase of expenditure on the part of 
owners for clothing. The waste is great. And indeed, 
once for all, I will here say, that the wastes of the sys- 
tem are so great, as well as the fluctuations in prices of 
staple articless for market, that it is diflicult, nay, impos- 
sible, to indulge in large expenditures on plantations 
and make them savingly profitable. 

Then general rn-ode of living is coarse and vulgar. 
Many Negro houses are small, low to the ground, black- 
ened with smoke, often with dirt floors,, and the furniture 
of the plainest kind. On some estates the houses are 
framed, weather-boarded, neatly wlrlle-washed, and 
made suflicicntly large and comfortable in every respect. 
The improvement in the size, materia], and finish of 
Negro houses is extending. Occasionally they may be 
found constructed of tabby or brick. 

A room is partitioned off" for a sleeping appartment 
and store-room, though houses are found destitute of 
this convenience. In such dwellings piivacy is impos- 
sible; and we may in a manner say that families live, 
sleep, and grow up together; their habits and manners 
being coarse and rude. Some owners make additions 
to the houses according- to the number and age of the 
children of families. 

Having now considered the circumslances of the 
Negro during his childhood, we may proceed and con- 
sider the circumstances of — 

The Negro at Adult age. — He lives in a house 
similar to the one in which he passed his childhood and 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 117 

youth. He has the necessary and annual provision made 
for his wants; associates with fellow-servants of like 
character to his own. The seeds of virtue or vice sown 
in his youth, now blossom and bear fruit. He marries 
and settles in life, his children grow up around him and 
tread in his footsteps, as he did in the footsteps of his 
father before him. 

The remarks on the religious instruction of children 
apply with equal correctness to adults. Staled religious 
instruction of adults 077 plantations, communicated by 
masters, ministers, or missionaries employed for the 
purpose, taking the slave States together, is not of fre- 
quent occurrence. The chief privilege enjoyed by 
thousands on plantations is evening prayers, conducted 
by themselves. If the individuals upon whom the con- 
duct of the evening meeting devolves are able to read, 
a chapter in the Bible is read ; a hymn is read and given 
out and sung; followed with prayer. If they cannot 
read, then a brief exhortation in place of the Scriptuies 
founded, it may be, on some remembeied passage, then 
a hymn from memory and prayer. There are thousands 
also, who, although freely allowed the privilege, do not 
embrace it, either from want of inclination, or of suita- 
ble persons to conduct the meetings. It is matter of 
thankfulness that the owners are few in number, indeed, 
who forbid religious meetings on their plantations, held 
either by their servants themselves, or by competent 
and approved white instructors or ministers. " All men 
have not faith." I have never known servants forbidden 
to attend the worship of God on thu Sabbath day, except 
as a restraint temporarily laid, for some flagrant miscon- 
duct. 

On special occasions}, such as fast days, communion 



I 18 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

seasons, and protracted meetings, a day or more is 
allowed servants by many masters. Throughout the 
sIave-!ioli!ing States the rest of the Sabbath is secured, 
to tlie Negroes, and on this day they have extensive 
opportunities of attending divine worship, in town and 
country. But it is well known to those who have alien-* 
lively observed the habits of this people, that large 
numbers of adults remain at home or spend the day in 
visiting or in ways still more exceptionable. Various 
causes conspire to produce the efl'ect. For instance ; 
it is their day of rest ; the distance which they must 
walk to church is considerable; the accommodations for 
seats, in certain cases, are limited; the services of the 
sanctuary arc too elevated for them ; they are not 
required or encouraged to go ; they have no exalted 
ideas of the importance of religion, and in common with 
all men, are naturally disinclined to it, and are easily 
satisfied with excuses for the neglert of it; and other 
causes which might be mentioned. Many, in settlements 
that are and that are not supplied with Gospel ministra- 
tions, live and die without an adequate knowledge of the 
way of salvation. 

Nor can the adult Negro acquaint himself with duty 
and the way of salvation through the reading of the 
Scriptures, any more than can the child. Of those 
that do read, but {ew read well enough for the edifica- 
tion of the hearers. Notall the colored ;)7-t'ac/ic?'S read. 

Two other circumstances which have considerable 
bearing on the moral and religious character of the 
Negroes deserve alienlion. The first is that the mar- 
riage state is not protected by law. Whatever of pro- 
tection it enjoys is to be attributed to custom, to the 
conscientious eflbrls of owners, and the discipline and 



MORAL AND t{ELIG!OUS CONDITION. 119 

dactrines of the cluirchcs ; and also the correct principle 
and virtue of the contracting parlies. But the relation 
is liable to disruption in a variety of forms, for some of 
which there is no remedy. The second is that the gov- 
ernment to which they are subjected is too much physi- 
cal in its nature. To discard an appeal to the principle 
of fear — the fear of punishment of the person of the 
transgressor in some form or other, woidd be running 
contrary to all governments in existence, both human 
and divine. While the necessity is admitted, yet the 
appeal should be made as seldom as possible and in the 
mildest ft)rm consistent with the due support of authority 
and the ref.irmation of the transgressor. Man has a 
spiritual as well as an cnimal nature, and corrective 
influences, shotdd be brought to bear upon that directly 
and in the first instance, as soon as he is able to discern 
between good and evil. 

Such then are the circumstances of the slave popula- 
tion, which have an unfavorable influence upon their 
moral and religious condition. Those circumstances 
only have been referred to which prominently assist us 
in our inquiry. In conclusion it may be added that ser- 
vants have neither intellectual nor moral intercourse with 
their masters generally, sufficient to redeem them from 
the adverse influence of the circumstances alluded to; 
for the two classes are distinct in their association, and 
it cannot well be otherwise. Nor hsve servants any re- 
deeming intercourse with any other persons. On the 
contrary in certain situations there is intercourse had 
with them, and many teni] lationslaid before them against 
which they have little or no defence, and the effect is 
tieplorable. 



130 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

2. Ihe circumstances of the free Negro population. 

The free Negro population is about equally divided 
belween the free and the slave states ; the balance may 
be somewhat in favor of the slave states. 

Their locations are chiefly in cities, towns and villa- 
ges; they are but thinly scattered throughotit the coun- 
try. Unless diverted by some uncontrolable circumstance 
they invariably find their way into cities, partly because 
they there find most society of their own co'or, and 
partly because they make out to live at less expense of 
labor : have the means and opportunities of vicious in- 
dulgence more at hand, with less danger of detection, 
and in every respect are under le^s supervision and res- 
traint. 

Their station in society as well as their condition, is 
one of inferiority. Their freedom consists mainly, in 
deliverance fiom compulsory] labor. The real estate 
owned by them takir.g the whole population, is very 
trifling: iheiv personal property is something greater; 
but as a class ifiey are poor. 

Here and there one may be found cultivating his own 
land for a support, but the mass, are hired servants: — 
waiters in private and public houses, stewards and cooks 
and common hands on board steam boats, and merchant 
vessels: some few on board men of war: mechanics, 
tradesmen: shop keepers, porters, draymen: hour and 
day laborers : " hewers of wood and drawers of water." 
Multitudes have no visible means of living: no support 
but that of vice. 

They usually occupy some particular quarter of the 
town, abandoned to them, with the exception of certain 
poor and degraded white families and shop keepers. 
The houses which they occupy are built cheaply for tha 



HOKAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 121 

poorer class of renters ; and wlien of sufficient size, will 
sometimes accommodate from two to six fLimilies. On 
a personal inspection of the entire Negro quarters of 
one of the chief towns in tlie Northern states, I found 
v/hite families mixed in with the black, a most motly as- 
semblage : whole families, sometimes taking in hoarders, 
lodged in one room, wilhout partitions or screens. Their 
furniture coarse and scatity, and so was their every day 
clothing in which I foufid them. There were no gardens 
cultivated, where ground was accessible. There were 
no visible comforts : ail things wore the appearance of 
poverty, improvidence, idleness, drunkenness and debau- 
chery. They seemed to live, literally, " from hand to 
mouth; " and to work only in obedience to stern neces- 
sity. There were a (gw, aid but a kw, creditable e.x- 
ceptions. 

The conveniences and comforts to be found in their 
dwellings, the bountifiiliiess of their diet and clothing, 
the number of friends which they have, or can command 
in seasons of sickness and suffering, all depend upon their 
own industry and uprightness of character. That char- 
acter being generally bad, their physical coiidition is 
bad also. This is the testimony of all who have made 
observations on the condition of the {"ree Negroes 
in the free slafcs. Their physical condition in the slave 
states, on the whole, {> clccidcdlij in advance of what iti? 
in ihe free states. There are more free colored y«w//zVs 
in the slave than in the free states : in the latter the youn* 
cannot marry, the support of a family, especially through 
the rigors of winter being difficult; and consequently, 
numbers of youth, abandon themselves to profligacy. 

Their advantages for education, and consequently ao 
cess to the loritten word oj God, are more limited in lh"& 
11 



122 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

slave than in the free slates, on account of the existence 
of laws against the education of colored persons; but 
notwithstanding, in the slave states the free Negroes, dp 
have schools for their children, or some private instruc- 
tion, and it would be difficult to decide whether as many 
of them do not learn to read as in the free states. The 
number of writers is less. 

In the free states schools are established in the cities, 
supported chiefly as free schools, for the education of 
Negro children; in villages, provision is also made for 
them ; and their employers teach them A few pass 
through College; the professions opened to them are 
Medicine and Divinity. The majority are ignorant of 
letters. 

Houses of public worship are erected in the chief towns 
in the free and slave States, where they may have access 
to a preached Gospel: in the free States for the use of the 
free Negroes — in the slave States for the use of jTrce iVe- 
groes and slaves. The officiating ministers either white 
or colored. Negroes seldom if ever, worship in the icJdte 
churches of the free States, in the cities; for example, 
in Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, etc. 
They are not expected to do so; neither is it thought 
desirable by the people. Consequently their accommo- 
dations are poor and scanty. In the Southern churches 
multitudes do; and the free colored population frequently 
prefer it to worshiping in the colored churches. In like 
manner there are Sahhath scJiools for the Negro children 
and youth, in the free States, and in a number of places 
in the slave States. But the free Negroes of the United 
States do not possess houses of worship, nor ministers of 
the Gospel, nor Sunday schools, in sufficient number for 
their accommodation. They are left in sad destitution of 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 123 

the means of grace. Children grow up, and adults live, 
estranged from the house of God — the Sabbath is with 
them a day of idleness — of vain and wicked pastime. 

Th^ amount o{ family govei'nment and instruction is 
limited; they associate with their own color or with 
degraded whites ; and as to prospects of advancement in 
society, they may accumulate wealth, there is no other 
distinction, except that of influence among themselves, 
arising from skill and intelligence and zealous devotion 
in the professions of medicine and divinity. They can 
never rise above their caste. 

Briefly as we have adverted to the circumstances of 
the free Negro population, it must be apparent that those 
circumstances exert an unfavorable influence upon the 
developement of good moral and religious character. 



124 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 



CHAPTER III. 



Moral and Religious Condition of the Negroes in the United Stales. 

We have refered to the disadvantages under which 
we labor for prosecuting our inquiry, nnd also, to the 
circumstances in which we find our Negro population. 
These preparatory steps being taken, we may now come 
intelligently, and with less surprise at the results, to a 
consideration of their actual moral and religious condition. 

As to moral and religious character, the Negroes are 
naturally what all other men are. No attempt, there- 
fore, will be made either to show that they are more 
depraved than another people would be in like circum- 
stances, or to show that they are the most degraded of 
all people on the earth. To attempt the establishment 
of one or both these positions would argue contempt of 
the truth. It is my wish to present the truth on the 
subject, derived from observation and other sources; 
believing that nothing more, and nothing less,, is required 
by ike importaace of it 



MORAL AND aELIGIOUS CONDITION, 125 

1. The Moral and Religious Condition of the Slave 
Negro Population. 

Ignorance of the doctrines and duties of Christianity 
is prevalent among the Negroes. 

Their notions of the Supreme Being; of the character 
and offices of Christ and of the Holy Ghost ; of a future 
state; and of what constitutes holiness of life, are indefi- 
nite and confused. Some brought up in a Christian land, 
and in the vicinity of the house of God, have heard 
of Jesus Christ; but who he is, and what he has done 
for a ruined world, they cannot tell. The Mohammedan 
Africans remaining of the old stock of importations, 
although accustomed to hear the Gospel preached, have 
been known to accommodate Christianity to Mohamme- 
danism. " God," say they, " is Allah, and Jesus Christ 
\3 Mohammed — the religion is the same, but different 
countries have different names." 

The number of professors of religion, in proportion to 
the whole, is not large,, that can present a correct view 
of the plan of salvation; although in many instances 
where they fail to do so, it is but just to observe, that 
their knowledge is greater than one not familiarly ac- 
quainted with them would conceive it to be. It exceeds 
their power of expression ; since from the want of edu- 
cation and practice, they are unable to state accurately 
and readily their own views and feelings. 

True religion they are inclined to place ^profession, 
in forms and ordinances, and in excited states of feeling. 
And true conversion, in dreams, visions, trances, voices — 
all bearing a perfect or striking resemblance to some 
form or type which has been handed down for generations, 
or which has been originated in the wild fancy of some 
11* 



126 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES: 

religious teacher among them. These dreams and visions 
they will offer to church-sessions, as evidences of con- 
version, if encouraged so to do, or if their better instruc- 
tion be neglected. Sometimes principles of conduct are 
adopted by church members at so much variance with 
the Gospel that the " grace of God is turned into lasciv- 
iousness." For example, members of the same church, 
are sacredly bound by their religion not to reveal each 
others sins, for that would be backbiting and injuring 
the brotherhood. And again, that which would be an 
abominable sin, committed by a church member witli a 
worldly person, becomes no sin at all if committed with 
another church member. The brethren must " bear one 
another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ." 

All the various perversions of the Gospel are to be 
met witli, and more than probable, pushed to extremes. 
Antinoniianism is not uncommon, and at times, in its 
worst forms. " Christ," is made " the minister of sin " 
— the christian is safe, do what he may. 

To know the extent of their ignorance even where 
they have been accustomed to the sound of the Gospel 
in white churches, a man should make investigation for 
himself — the result will frequently surprise and fill him 
with grief They scarcely feel shame for their ignorance 
on the subject of religion, although they may have had 
abundant opportunity of becoming wiser. Ignorance, 
they seem to feel, is their lot; and that feeling is inti- 
mately associated with another, every Avay congenial to 
the natural man, namely, a feeling of irresponsibility — 
ignorance is a cloak and excuse for crime. Some white 
ministers and teachers, in their simplicity, beholding 
their attention to the preaching of the Gospel, adapted 
to their comprehension, and hearing the expressions of 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 127 

their thankfulness for the pains taken for their instruc- 
tion, come to the conclusion that they are an unsophis- 
ticated race; tliat they form one of the easiest and 
pleasantest fields of labor in the world ; and that ihey are 
a people "made ready, prepared for the Lord;" — nothing 
more being necessary than to carry them the Gospel 
and converts will be multiplied as drops of morning dew, 
yea, a nation will be born in a day. 

Experiment shortly dissipates these visions, and well 
is it if the sober reality does not frigliten the laborer 
away in disgust and disappointment. He who carries 
the Gospel to them encounters depravity, intrenched in 
ignorance, both real and pretended. He beholds the 
Scripture fulfilled, "having the understanding darkened, 
being alienated from the life of God through the igno- 
rance that is in them, because of the harchiess of their 
hearts." — Eph.4, 17 — 19. He discovers deism, skep- 
ticism, universalism. As already slated, the various 
perversions of the Gospel, and all the strong objections 
against the truth of God ; objections which he may 
perhaps have considered peculiar only to the cultivated 
minds, the ripe scholarship and profound intelligence, of 
critics and philosophers ! Extremes here meet on the 
natural and common ground of a darkened understanding 
and a hardened heart. He is convinced that there is "a 
spirit which ruleth in the hearts of the children of diso- 
bedience." " They are wise to do evil ; but to do good 
they have no knowledge." 

Intimately connected with their ignorance, is their 
superstition. 

They believe in second-sight, in apparitions, charms, 
witchcraft, and in akind of irresistible Satanic influence. 
The superstitions brought from Africa have not been; 



128 RELIGIOUS INSTKUCTfON OF THE NEGROES. 

wholly laid aside. Ignorance and superstition render 
them easy dupes to their teachers, doctors, prophets, 
conjurers; to artful and designing men. When fairly 
committed to such leaders, they may be brought to the 
commission of almost an)' crime. Facts in their history 
prove this. On certain occasions they have been made 
to believe that while they carried about their persons 
some charm with which they had been furnished, they 
were invulnerable. They have, on certain other occa- 
sions, been made to believe that they were under a pro- 
tection that rendered ihem invincible. That they might 
go any where and do any thing they pleased, and it 
would be impossible for them to be discovered or known ; 
in fine, to will was to do — safely, successfully. They 
have been knov/n to be so perfectly and fearfully under 
the influence of some leader or conjurer or minister, 
that they have not dared to disobey him in the least par- 
ticular; nor to disclose their own intended or perpetrat- 
ed crimes, in view of inevitable death itself; notwith- 
standing all other influences brought to bear upon them. 
Their superstition is made gain of by the conjurers and 
others like them. They are not only imposed and 
practiced upon to their hurt, by these more prominent 
characters, but by each other more privately, by " trick- 
ing," as it is called, for the gratification of revenge, or 
of lust, or of covetousness. A plain and faithful presen- 
tation of the Gospel, usually weakens if not destroys 
these superstitions. 

Their sense of obligation to improve religious pri- 
vileges is seriously defective. 

Necessarily so, both with the church and the world, 
because they have never enjoyed to any great extent, 
early religious training. It is a matter depending pretty 



MORAL ANP RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 129' 

much upon the contingencies of the day or the hour 
whether tliey attend the house of God on the Sabbath 
or the meeting for prayer on the plantation. One of the 
fiist efforts of tlie Minister or l\li.ssionary should be to 
create a sense of obligation in respect to this very thing ^ 
to enlighten their consciences, and bring them to feel 
that they are responsible for the due improvement of their 
privileges ; and that the members of the church should 
be foremost in meeting that responsibility. They will 
now and then excuse their remissness, by pleading that 
their leisure is needed for rest: or that they have no 
time : that it is hard for tliem to serve their earthly and 
heavenly master too. It is but an excuse, for the Ne- 
groes in the South, in general, fall short at the least one 
third of what free white laborers perform. Yet as 
power may be, and sometimes is abused, we should look 
well to it, that by our exactions and treatment, we may 
not prevent our people from enleringin to the kingdom 
of heaven. 

They have but a poor standard of mnral character, 
and are indifferent to the general corruption of man- 
ners that prevails around thein. 

"Which is a strong evidence of their moral degradation: 
for a public sentiment in respect to various vices and 
improper customs, pervades with considerable force all 
societies advanced in some good degree in piety and 
virtue. 

The standard of moral character is much higher among 
the members of the church, than among those who are 
not, but it is not by any means, what it mightand ought 
to be. They say and do and tolerate what is plain evi- 
dence that their standard is low. To aspire to or hope 
for as elevated a morality as obtains among the whites 



130 IIEUGIOU3 INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

they think, can neither be expected, nor required of them. 
With the people of the world there is scarcely any 
standard of moral character, strictly speaking, at all. 
They seem to feel that they have very little to gain or 
lose either way they turn. 

They take little interest in the moral improvement of 
their own color. They live not together as communi- 
ties having common ties and interests which would 
prompt them to promote the public piety and virtue, but 
very much as independent individuals and families. 
Such a thing as their uniting to suppress any particular 
vice, or to promote any good object, has not been known 
among ihem, if we except a few Temperance societies 
formed of late years. They regard not the evil influ- 
ence which they may exert over their neighbor, norths 
injury which they may do him in his character, in his 
family, or property, if their lust or malice or avarice be 
gratified. 

They follow their own inclinations and interests, hav- 
ing respect to consequences mainly, as they may bring 
them into collision with the laws and regulations of the 
plantation or household. Should they escape the mas- 
ter, the difficulties with their own color will be easily 
adjusted, if cared for at all. 

But the Negroes are scrupulous on one point; they 
make common cause, as servants, in concealing their 
faults from their owners. Inquiry elicits no information ; 
no one feels at liberty to disclose the transgressor; all 
are profoundly ignorant; the matter assumes the sacred- 
ness of a "professional secret:" for they remember 
that they may hereafter require the same concealment 
of their own transgressions from their fellow servants, 
and if they tell upon them now, they may have the like 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 131 

favor retiirnecl them ; besides, in the meanwhile, having 
their names cast out as evil from among their brethren, 
and being subjected to scorn, and perhaps personal vio- 
lence or pecuniary injury. 

The frequency of church discipline and the character 
of the crimes requiring it, cast light upon their moral 
and religions condition. 

The discipline of colored members is involved, tedious, 
vexatious and disgusting. Many cases worthy of disci- 
pline never appear for it, because, at one lime, they are 
secretly hushed up, and at another, testimony cannot be 
procured, as they avoid, if it be possible, becoming 
accusers or witnesses. Excommunications, however, 
and suspensions are of perpetual occurrence, for crimes 
shocking in character, and of themselves sufficient to 
show the general state of morals ; such for example as 
adultery, fornication, theft, lying, drunkenness, quarrel- 
ing, and fighting. The first three are their most com- 
mon vices. Out-breaking sins only are taken in hand. 
Their bitterness, wrath, clamor, evil-speaking, and pro- 
fanity are seldom noticed, and for the reason that all 
passes away with the breath, and no man has his Himily 
invaded, his property consumed, or his bones broken. 

I have heard the observation made by men whose 
standing and office in the churches affijrded them abun- 
dant opportunity for observation, that the more they have 
had to do with colored members, the less confidence 
they have been compelled to place in theii Christian 
profession. A great many whites are very incredulous 
on the point; indeed, the Negroes themselves do not 
place a great de-al of confidence in each other's Chris- 
tian character, and they should be good judges, for they 
have a more intimate acquaintance with one another than 



132 UELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

the whites possibly can have. Yet when we consider 
that the Negroes are brought up in ignorance of religion 
in multitudes of instances; subjected ofttimes to the 
incoir.petent teachings of men of their own color; the 
preaching and instruction in white churches above their 
comprehension ; no access directly to the word of life ; 
surrounded with depraved society ; subjected to mani* 
fold temptations; destitute to a considerable extent of 
encouragement in ways of rigliteousness ; and a life of 
active employment, I apprehend that our surprise will 
be, not that there are so many spurious conversions and 
so many defections, but that there are so few ; and more- 
over, that in judging their Christian character, charity 
demands that w^e should consider their condition and 
circumstances and make very great allovv'ances. Hence 
considering their condition and circumstances, and com- 
paring them with the more improved and favored class 
of white members, I could not say that the amount and 
degree of piety were remarkably in favor of the one 
over the other. I have seen the Scriptures abundantly 
fulfilled amongst the Negroes — " halh not God chosen 
the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the 
kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love 
him." — /a. 2, 5. 

But a brief view of the prevailing' vices of the Ne- 
groes will best reveal their moral and religious condition-. 

Violations of tke marriage contract. 

The divine institution of marriage depends for its 
perpetuity, sacredness, and value, largely upon the pro- 
tection given it by the law of the land. Negro marriages 
are neither recognized nor protected by hiw. The 
Negroes receive no instruction on the nature, sacredness, 
^nd perpetuity of the institution ; at any rate they are 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION^. 133 

far from being duly impressed with these things. They 
are not required to be married in any particular form, 
nor by any particular persons. Their ceremonies are 
performed by their own watchmen or teachers, by some 
white minister, or as it frequently happens, not at all ; 
the consent of owners and of the parties immediately 
interested, and a public acknowledgment of each other, 
being deemed sufficient. 

There is no special disgrace nor punishment visite^l 
upon those who criminally violate their marriage vows, 
except what may be inflicted by owners, or, if the parties 
be members, by the church in the way of suspension 
and excommunication. 

Families are and may be divided for improper conduct 
on the part of either husband or wife, or by necessity, 
as in cases of the death of owners, division of estates, 
debt, sale, or removals, for they are subject to all the 
changes and vicissitudes of property. Such divisions 
are, however, carefully guarded against and prevented, 
as far as possible, by owners, on the score of interest, 
as well as of religion and liumanily. 

Hence, as may well be imagined, the marriage relation 
loses much of the sacredness and perpetuity of its 
character. It is a contract of convenience, profit, or 
pleasure, that may be entered into and dissolved at the 
will of the parties, and that without heinous sin, or the 
injury of the property or interests of any one. That 
which they possess in common is speedily divided, and 
the support of the wife and children falls not upon the 
husband, but upon the master. Protracted eickness, 
want of industrious habits, of congeniality of disposition, 
or disparity of age, are sufficient grounds for a separa- 
tion. While there are creditable instances of conjugal 
12 



134 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

fidelity for a long series of years, and until death; yet 
infidelity in the marriage relation and dissolution of 
marriage ties are not uncommon. 

• On account of the changes, interruptions and interfe- 
rences in families, there are quarrelings and fightings, 
and a considerable item in the management of plantations 
is the settlement of family troubles. Some owners 
become disgusted and Avearied out, and finally leave 
their people to their own way ; while others cease from 
the strife ere it be meddled with, and give it as an opin- 
ion that the less the interference on the part of the 
master the better. A few conscientious masters per- 
severe in attempts at reformation, and with some good 
degree of success. 

Polygamy is practised both secretly and openly; in 
some sections where the people have been well instructed 
it is scarcely known ; in others, the crime has diminished 
and is diminishing; it is to be hoped universally so. It 
is a crime which among all people and under all circum- 
stances, carries, in its perpetration, vast inconveniences 
and endless divisions and troubles : and they are felt by 
the Negroes as well as by others, and operate as a great 
preventive. Polygamy is also discountenanced and 
checked by the majority of owners, and by the churches 
of all denominations. 

Uncleanncss. — The sin may be considered universal. 
The declaration will be sufficient for those who have any 
acquaintance with this people in the slave-holding States 
or in the free States ; indeed, with the ignorant laboring 
classes of people wherever they may be found. It is 
not my object to institute comparisons, if it were, I could 
point to many tongues and people, in civilized govern- 
ments, upon the same level of depravity with the Negroes. 



MORAL A.ND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 135 

The sin is not viewed by them as by those of higher 
intelligence and virtue, so that they do not consider 
character as lost by it, nor personal degradation as neces- 
sarily connected with it. A view which, however it 
may spring from vitiated principle, preserves the guilty 
from entire prostration. 

Intimately connected Avilh this view is the crime of 
Infanticide: — a crime restrained in good measure by 
the provision made for the support of the child on the 
part of the owner, by the punishment in case of detec- 
tion, and by the moral degradation of the people that 
takes away the disgrace of bastardy. 

Theft. — They are proverbially thieves. They bear 
this character in Africa; they have borne it in all coun- 
tries whither they have been carried; it has-been the 
character of slaves in all ages, whatever their nation or 
color. They steal from each other ; from their masters 
from any body. Cows, sheep, hogs, poultry, clothing;, 
yea, nothing goes amiss to which they take a fancy; 
while corn, rice, cotton, or the staple productions, what- 
ever they may be, are standing temptations, provided a 
market be at hand, and they can sell or barter them with 
impunity. Locks, bolts, and bars secure articles desir- 
able to them, from the dwelling of the master to that of 
the servant, and the keys, must always be carried. 

Falsehood. — Their veracity is nominal. Duplicity 
is one of the most prominent traits in their character, 
practiced between themselves, but more especially tow- 
ards their masters and managers. Their frequent 
cases oi feigned sickness are vexatious. "When criminal 
acts are under investigation, the sober, strenuous false- 
hood, sometimes the direct and awful appeal to God, of 
the transgressor, averts the suspicion, and by his own 



1'36 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

tact or collusion with athers, perhaps, fixes the guilt 
U^on some innocent person. The number, the variety 
and ingenuity of falsehoods that can be told by them in 
a few brief moments, is most astonishing. Wher© 
opportunity is given they will practice imposition. Ser- 
vants, however, who will neither steal nor lie, may be 
found, and in no inconsiderable numbers. 

Quarreling and Fighting. — The Negroes are settled 
in some qua,rter of the pkntation, in houses near eaeh 
other, built in lows, foiming a street. The custom is to 
give each family a house of its own. The houses some- 
times have a partition in the middle and accommodate a 
family in each end. These are called double-houses^ 
Living so near each other, and every day working 
fogether, causes of difference must necessarily arise. 
Families grow jealous and envious of their neighbors ; 
some essay to be leading families ; they overhear con- 
versations and domestic disagreements; become privy 
to improper conduct ; they depredate upon each other ; 
a fruitful source of tumult is the pilfering ancl quarreling 
of children which involve their parents. The women 
quarrel more than the men, and fight oftener. Where 
no decisive measures are taken to suppress these prac- 
tices, plantations sometimes become intolerable,, might 
gives right ; the strong oppiess the weak. Every master 
or manager has the evil under his own control. 

They come to open breaches too, with their neighbors 
on adjoining plantations, or lots, if they live in towns. 
The Sabbath is considered a very suitable day for the 
settlement of their diijiculties. However, with truth it 
nriay be said, there are fewer personal injuries, and 
manslaughters, and murders among the Negroes in the 
South, than among the same amount of population in 
any part of the United States ;, or, perhaps,, in the world. 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CaNDITlOW. 137 

Insensibility of Heart. — An ignorant and degraded 
people are not wont to exhibit much of the milk of 
human kindness. 

Unless the Negroes are carefully watched and made 
accountable for power lodged in their hands, it will be 
abused. Parents will beat their children, husbands their 
wives, master-mechanics their apprentices, and drivers 
the people. In sickness, parents will neglect their chil " 
dren, children their parents ; and so with the other social 
relations. They cannot be trusted as nurses. Hence 
they must be made to attend upon the sick, and then 
watched lest they neglect them ; v.-hich ultimately brings 
the whole care of the sick upon the master or manager. 
It is a saying of their own, " that white people care 
more for them than their own color;" and again, " that 
black people have not the same feeling for each other 
that white people have." It is an indisputable fact that 
when Negroes become owners of slaves they are gene- 
rally cruel masters. They will over-load, work-down, 
bruise and beat, and starve all working animals commit- 
ted to their care, with careless indifference. 

Profane Swearing — is indulged in by both men and 
women ; and in certain districts to a most fearful extent. 
The vile habit is not so much under the notice of mas- 
ters as some others, because servants restrain themselves 
in their presence and hearing, so that a plantation may 
be notorious for its profanity and the owner be ignorant 
of the fact. "With profane swearing may be connected 
i\\eir vulgar and obscene conversation, songs, and jests, 
which tend to the early ruin of delicacy, modesty, and 
virtue. 

Drunkenness — is more prevalent in towns and cities 
because facilities for procuring ardent spirits are greater 
12* 



138 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES; 

than in country places. Drunkenness is easily detected] 
and rarely escapes punishment, and; the Negroes stand 
in fear. But immense quantities of ardent spirits are 
sold in, the Southern States to the Negroes, by retailing- 
sAop.?,, established for the express, purpose of Negro- 
trading; wherever such trade may be secured. These 
shops injure the pecuniary interests of the country;, 
they corrupt the morals, injure the health and destroy 
the lives of many of the Negroes ; and are the greatest 
nuisances and sources of evil tolerated in the country.. 
Had the Negroes, access to ardent spirit they would 
speedily become a nation of drunkards. 

Sabbath-breaking. — From all that has been said on 
the moral and religious condition of the Negroes, it is 
not necessary to enlarge on their Sabbath breaking. 
If they go not to the house of God, as multitudes do not, 
they spend the day in visiting, in idleness and sleep, or 
in hunting, fishing, or, sometimes, in thieving or working 
for their own convenience and profit; and where Sunday 
markets are tolerated, in trading. The necessity for the 
few Sunday markets which may exist, is laid in the 
cupidity and selfishness of those in authority ; and the 
deeper condemnation of the iniquity will be visited upom 
them. The labor which the overwhelming mass of the 
Negroes perform in the South, especially in the cotton, 
growing districts, leaves them abundant time for their 
own domestic affairs, if they have any disposition to 
improve it. Hence the general fact that the Negroes 
who keep the Sabbath, are the most thrifty and well-to- 
live. If a master so works his people as to compel them 
in a measure to labor for themselves on the Sabbath, or 
if he requires for himself any labor from them, on that 
holy day, the burden of the sin is upon his shoulders ; 



MORAt AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 139 

nor can such conduct be spoken of in terms of too 
severe reprobation; and it merits the attention of the 
civil authorrties, and the severest penalties provided in 
law. But if a master be humane, and makes every 
arrangement to promote the prosperity of his people, if 
they will do that which they know is wrong, the blame 
is theirs and not his. There is, indeed, a limit to the 
responsibility of masters, as well as of others in authority, 
I am aware that there are exceptions in favor of mem- 
bers of the church,, among Negroes, and in favor of 
particular parts of our country, wherein efforts have 
been made to secure a better observance of the Sabbath, 
but taking the country generally, our Sabbaths are 

profaned. 

Our observaAions have, thus far, had direct reference 
to country, or plantation, Negroes, and exceptions- to 
our general view, are always implied if not expressed. 
Variations may be discovered in their character and cir- 
cumstances in different States and in different parts of 
the same State. 

The moral ami religious condition of town and city 
Negroes, may be disposed of in a few lines. 

They admit of division into four classes: family ser- 
vants, or those who belong to the families which they 
serve ; hired servants, or those who are hired out by 
their owners to wait in families, or to any other service ; 
servants who hire their own time, and work at vaiious 
employments and pay their owners so much per day or 
month; and watermen, embracing fishermen, sailors,, 
and boat-men. 

Town and city Negroes are more intelligent and 
sprightly than country Negroes, owing to a difference 
in circumstances, employments, and opportunities of 



140 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

improvement. Their physical condition is somewhat 
improved ; and they enjoy greater accesst to religious 
privileges. 

On the other hand, they are exposed to greater temp- 
tations and vices; their opportunities of attending 
upon places of pleasure and dissipation are increased; 
they have stronger temptations to theft, and idleness, 
and drunkenness, and lewdness ; and the tendency to 
Sabbath breaking is equally great. Their moral and reli- 
gious condition is precisely that of plantation Negroes, 
modified in some respects and aggravated in others, by 
peculiarity of circumstances. They are more intelligent 
but less subordinate ; better provided for in certain par- 
ticulars, but not more healthy; enjoy greater advantages 
for religious improvement, but are thrown more directly 
in the way of temptation ; and, on the Avhole, in point 
of moral character, if there be any pre-eminence it is in 
favor of the country Negroes ; but it is a difficult point 
to decide. 

I shall, now, having brought to a close the moral and 
religious condition of the slave Negro population, pre- 
sent a few extracts from various and recent authors, 
corroborative of the view which I have taken of it. 

Edwin C. Holland, Esq., in his, '■^Refutation of Cal- 
umnies circulated against the Southern and Western 
States:^'' Charleston, 1822, says, page 59; "If it be 
asked why those in the lower country are allowanced, 
while those of the interior are not; the answer is, that 
such are the facilities of transportation to market, and 
the disposition to thievery so innate to the blacks, that 
a planter's barn would in a very short time become 
bankrupt of its wealth, and the whole of his substance 
vanish like unsubstantial moonshine." 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 14 1 

Dr. Dalcho, of the Episcopal church, in his '* Prac" -> 
tical Considerations^ etc.;** Charleston, 1823, p. 6. 
"Ignorant and indolent by nature, improvident and de- 
praved by habit, and destitute of the moral principle, as 
they generally appear to be, ages and generations must 
pass away before they could be made virtuous, honest, 
and useful members of society." 

Gen. Thomas Pinckney, in his " Rejlections, etc.; ** 
Charleston, 1822; pp. 20, 21. "Every thing consigned 
to the management of the slave, who has neither the 
incitement of interest, nor the fear of certain punish- 
ment, is neglected or abused ; horses and all inferior 
animals left to their charge are badly attended; their 
provender finds its way to the dram shop, and they are 
used frequently without discretion or mercy ; their car- 
riages and harness are slightly and badly cleaned ; the 
tools of the mechanics are broken and lost through neg- 
lect ; their very clothing becomes more expensive 
through their carelesness arising from the knowledge 
that they must be supplied with all these articles, as welJ 
as their subsistence, at their masters expense ; and waste, 
that moth of domestic establishments, universally pre- 
vails." 

The Honorable Charles Cotesvvorth Pinckney; "ilrf- 
dress before the Agricultural Society of South Caro' 
Una;" Charleston, 1829, second edition, pp. 10, 12. 

"There needs no stronger illustration of the doctrine 
of human depravity than the state of morals on jilanta- 
tions in general. Besides the mischievous tendency of 
bad example in parents and elders, the little Negro is 
often taught by these his natural instructeis, that he 
may commit any vice he can conceal from his superiors, 
and thus falsehood and deception are among the earliest 



143 REUQIOU3 INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

lessons they imbibe. Their advance in years is but ^ 
progression to the higher grades of iniquity. The vio* 
lation of the seventh commandment is viewed in a more 
venial light than in fashionable European circles. Their 
depredations of rice have been estimated to amount to 
twenty-five per cent on the gross average of crops, and 
this calculation was made after fifty years experience^ 
by one whose liberal provision for their wants left no 
excuse for their ingratitude." 

Thomas S. Clay, Esq., of Bryan county, Ga. ^^ Detail 
of a Plan for the Moral Improvement of Negroes, 
on Plantations ;^' 1833; pp. 8,9; speaks of "vice and 
impurity, as the inheritance, for ages, of this degraded 
race," and enumerates "quarreling and fighting, lying 
and indecency," among their vices. 

The Honorable Whitemarsh B. Seabrook : " Essay 
on the Management of Slaves : " Charleston, 1834 : pp. 
7, 8, 12, «fcc. " As human beings however slaves are 
liable to all the infirmities of our nature. Ignorant and 
fanatical none are more easily excited. Incendiaries 
might readily embitter their enjoyments and render them 
a curse to themselves and the community." — "The 
prominent offences of the slave are to be traced in most 
instances to the use of intoxicating liquors. This is one 
of the main sources of every insurrectionary movement 
which has occurred in the United States, we are there- 
fore bound by interest as well as the common feeling of 
humanity, to arrest the progress of what may emphati- 
cally be called the contagious disease of our colored 
population. What have become of the millions of free- 
men who once inhabited our widely spread country ? Ask 
the untiring votaries of Bacchus. Can there be a doubt, 
but that the authority of the master alone prevents his 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITON. 143 

slaves from experiencing the fate of the aborigines of 
America/" — "Atone time polygamy was a common 
crime: it is now of rare occurrence." — "Between 
slaves on the same plantation there is a deep sympathy 
of feeling which binds them so closely together that a 
crime committed by one of their number is seldom dis- 
covered through their instrumentality. This is an ob- 
stacle to the establishment of an efficient police, which 
the domestic legislator can with difficulty surmount." 

The executive committee of the Kentucky Union for 
the moral and religious improvement of the colored race, 
in their "Circular to the ministers of the gospel in Ken- 
tucky " — 1834, say — "We desire not to represent 
their condition worse than it is. Doubtless the light that 
shines around them, more or less illuminates their minds 
and moralizes their characters. We hope and believe 
that some of them, though poor in this world's goods, 
will be found rich in spiritual possessions in the day when 
the King of Zion shall make up his jewels. We know 
that many of them are included in the visible church, 
and frequently exhibit great zeal ; but it is to be feared 
that it is often ' a zeal without knowledge : ' and of the 
majority it must be confessed, that 'the light shineth in 
darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.' After 
making all reasonable allowances, our colored population 
can be considered, at the most, but semi-heathen." — 
Western Luminary . 

Bishop Meade of Virginia in his admirable, "Pastoral 
Letter to the Diocese of Virginia," urges the duty of af- 
fording religious instruction to those in bondage, on the 
ground that they are degraded and destitute. Alexandria^ 
D. €. 1834. 



1 44 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Bishop Ives of North Carolina, (same pamphlet, Ap- 
pendix pp. 27-28,) takes the same ground in his Address 
to his Convention. 

C. W. Gooch Esq., Henrico county, Va. Prize Essay 
on Agriculture in Virginia. 

" The slave feels no inducement to execute his work 
with effect. He has a particular art of slighting it and 
seeming to be busy when in fact he is doing little or 
nothing. Nor can he be made to take proper care of 
stock, tools, or any thing else. He will rarely take care 
of his clothes or his own health, much less of his com^ 
panion's when sick and reqairing his aid and kindness. 
There is perhaps not in nature a more heedless, thought'- 
less human being than a Virginia field Negro. With no 
care upon his mind, with warm clothing and plenty of 
food under a good master, is far the happier man of the 
two. His maxim is, ' come day, go day, God send Sun- 
day.' His abhorrence of the poor white man i.s very 
great. He may sometimes feel a ?T^ec/ec? respect for him, 
in consequence of the confidence and esteem of his mas- 
ter and others. But this trait is remarkable in the white, 
as in the black man. All despise poverty and seem to 
worship wealth. To the losses which arise from the Jzs- 
pvsitions of our slaves, must be added those which are 
occasioned by their habits. There seems to bean almost 
entire absence of moral principle among the mass of our 
colored population. But details upon this subject would 
be here misplaced. To steal and not to be detected is a 
merit among them, as it was with certain people in an- 
cient times, and is at this day, with some unenlightened 
portions of mankind. And the vice which they hold in 
the greatest abhorrence is that of telling upon one another. 
There are many exceptions it is true, but this description 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIOX. 145 

embraces more than the mnjority. The numerous^rec 
negroes and worthless dissipated whites who have no vis- 
ible means of snpport, and wlio are rarely seen at work 
derive their chief subsistence from the slaves. These 
thefts amount to a good deal in the course of the year 
and operate like leeches on the fair income of agriculiurs. 
They vary, however, in every county and neighborhood 
in exact proportion as the market for thepIuTider varies. 
In the vicinities of towns and villages they are the most 
serious. Besides the actual loss of property occasioned 
by them, they involve the riding of our horses nt night, 
the corruption of the habits and the injury of the health 
of the slaves; for whiskey is the price generally received 
for them." 

These extracts selected at random, are sufficient. A 
multiplication of them would be but a tiresome repetition. 
After a'!l, the l)est testimony, is the observation and cjpc- 
rience of all persons ivho are intimatchj acquainted with 
tiiem. That the Negroes are in a degraded state is a fact, 
so far as my knowledge extends, universally conceded. 
It makes vm difference if it be shown, as it might be, that 
they are less degraded than other portions of the human 
family, th« fact remains true in respect to them, they are 
degraded, and it xstliis fact with which we have to do. 

2. The moral and religious condition of the free Negro 
population. Conclusion of the subject. 

They wxe emphatically , lovers of pleasure andof show. 

All kinds of amusements, except those which involve 
labor or reflection, possess great attractions for them, 
and their indulgence is limited only by their means of 
access to them. 

With a passion for dress, they frequently spend all 
13 



146 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

ihey make, in fine clothes; their appearance on the Sab- 
bath and on public days, is any thing else but an index 
of their fortunes and comfort at home. They hire 
clotl ing lor set occasions if they have none sufficiently 
good. 

Prof>erhially idle, the majority work not except from 
necessity, and as soon as they collect a litlle money they 
must enjoy themselves upon i(. They have been known 
to refijse employment, because not exactly out of money. 
Their love of ease overcomes that of jrain. This pro- 
pensity to idleness exposes them to manifold temptations, 
plunges them into numerous vices and subjects them to 
great privation and ^ufft;ring. 

They are amazingly improvidait. One melting ray 
from a summer's sun, dissipatfs every remembrance of a 
long and dreary winter ofsufTering. Tlie golden season 
of labor is passed in lounging along the streets and bask- 
ing in the sun, or in iazy, bungling, and fitful attempts 
rt work. Those that have regular trades and employ- 
ments do better. Profane swe.ai'ing, quarrtlin g , Jighting 
end Sabbath-brcahing , are such common vices that they 
require no special notice. 

Drunkenness , with its attendant woes, hurries large 
numbers of them to sudden and untimely ends. Low, 
dark, secluded, and filthy dram shops, are favorite resorts; 
often the depositories of stolen goods. 1 have seen them 
living upon a ^^\s crackers a day and as much whiskey 
as they could procure; their life spent in idleness, nightly 
revels, drunkenness, and debauchery. 

Theft is still with them, in a state of freedom, a char'' 
Cctcrhtic vice. Their petty larcenies ore without num- 
ber, and they advance to burglaries and give constant 
employment to police officers. Lei any one attend the 



HORAL AND RELIGIOUS COVDITIOX. 147 

city courts in our chief towns in ihc free States, or read 
the reports of cases in the tievvspnper.-, and he will be 
surprised at the nuniher of colored persons. Slabbing 
and murder have of late years not become infrequent. 

Lewdness is without bounds. Great numbers, both m 
the.«j|ave and free States, not only pursue the vice, but 
are trained up to it, as a means of living. Infanticide, 
and the crimes and wretchednciss connected with the 
vice, are found among them : the crime of infanticide is 
far more common among the free Negroes in \he freCf 
than in the slave States. Indeed it is by no means com- 
mon among the free Negroes in the slave Stales. Their 
mcirric'gc relations too, are sniiject tij dissolutions froin 
infidelity and various other causes. It is a remarkblo 
fact that a large proporliDU of those of a marriagablQ 
age, rfmain single, especially in the free Slates, whera 
the support of a family is diffieult. This fact has a 
considerable bearing on their state of morals. 

Willi a fiw erlraets from different publications, this 
branch of our inquiry shall be dismissed. 

"The experience of the Stales north and east of tha 
Susquehanna, with regard to this class of persons, is not 
on the whole much more encouraging." (i.e. than that 
of the Southern Stales, where it is bad.) " The number 
of respectable inciividnals is considerably greater indeed, 
but the character of t!ie mass nearly the same. Nor 
can it be urged that they are here debartd access to the 
or<iinary means of moral and intellectual regeneration. 
On the contrary, schools are established for them; they 
are aided in procuring the conveniences of religious 
instructioti and divine worship ; they are united in 
societies adapted to produce self-respect and mental acti- 
vity ; exemplary attention is paid in numerous instances 



M8 RELIOIOVS INSTRirCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

to the regulation of their habits and principles. They 
have every facility which is enjoyed by the laboring 
classes among the whiles, of acquiring a plain education 
and a comfortable subsistence and of making provision 
for their children. They have the same legal security in 
person and property and generally, the same political 
rights as the rest of the community." — Walsh's Appeal. 

"Taken as a whole the free blacks must be considered 
the most worthless and indolent of the citizens of the 
United States. It is well known that throughout the 
whole extent of our Union, they are looked upon as the 
very drones and pests of society. Nor does this charac- 
ter arise from their disabilities and disfranchisement, by 
which the law attempts to guard against them. In the 
Hon-slaveholding states, where they have been more 
elevated by law, this kind of population is in a worse 
condition and much more troublesome to society than 
in the slave-holding and especially in the planting States. 
Ohio, some years ago, formed a sort of land of promise 
for this deluded class, to which many have repaired frora 
the slave-holding States; and what has been the conse- 
quence? They have been most harshly expelled from 
that State and forced to take refuge in a foreign land. 
Look through all the Northern States and mark the class 
upon whom the eye of the police is most steadily and 
constantly kept ; see with what vigilance and care they 
are hunted down from place to place; and you cannot 
fail to see that idleness and improvidence are at the root 
of all their misfortunes. Not only does the experience 
of our own country illustrate this great fact, but others 
ftirnish abundant testimony." — President Dew. 

Governor Giles, upon a calculation based on the ave- 
page number of convictions in the State of Virginia frotn 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. T4^ 

the penetentiary reports, up to 1829, shows that " crimes 
amon;r the free blacks are more than three times as 
numerous as among the whites, and four and a half times 
more numerous than among tlie slaves," and that the 
proportion of crime is still not as great among the free 
blacks in Virginia, as in Massachusetts. Hence is it 
inferred that they are not so degraded and vicious in 
Virginia, a slave State, as in Massachusetts, a free State." 
—Ibid. 

" We are not to wonder that this class of citizens should 
be so depraved and immoral." " Idleness, and conse- 
quent want, are of themselves sufficient to generate a 
catalogue of vices of the most mischievous and destruc- 
tive character. Look to the penal proseciition of every 
country and mark the situation of those who tall victims 
to the laws; and what a frightful proportion do we find 
among the indigent and idle classes of society ! Idleness 
generates want, want gives rise to temptation, and strong 
temptation makes the villain. Mr. Archer of Virginia 
well observed in his speech before the Colonization So- 
ciety, that the free blacks were destined by an insupera- 
ble barrier, to the want of occupation, thence to the 
want of food, thence to the distresses which ensue that 
want, thence to the settled depravation which grows out 
of those distresses and is nursed at their bosoms." — lb, 

A colony of free blacks was expelled from Ohio, in 
1832, on account of their dissoluteness and dishonesty 
and misery; being considered in the light of vagabonds 
and nuisances. A college for free negroes was projected 
in New Haven about the same tinie, and the respectable 
citizens opposed and suppressed it, because the increase 
of that class of population was considered an evil. "Few 
of them, (the free Negro population,) are engaged in 
13* 



150 UELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

trade or commerce or liave any hopes of elevating them- 
selves to that situation. Nine-tenths of them are in sub- 
ordinate and menial situations and likely thus to remain, 
at low wages. That they labor under the most oppressive 
disadvantages which their freedom can by no means 
counterbalance is too obvious to admit of doubt." 

"1 waive all inquiry whether this be right or wrong. I 
speak of things as they are; not as they might or ought, 
to be. They are cut off fro uj the most remote chance 
of amalgamation with the white population, by feelings 
or prejudices, call them what you will, that are ineradi- 
cable. The situation of the majority of them is more 
unfavorable than that of many of the slaves. ' With all 
the burdens, cares, and responsibilities of freedom, they 
have few or none of its substantial benefits. Their asso- 
ciations are and must be cliiefly with slaves. Their right 
of suffrage gives them little if any political influence, 
and they are practically if not theoretically excluded, 
from representation in our public councils.' No merit, 
no services, no talents, can ever elevate the great mass 
of them to a level with the whites; occasionally an ex- 
ception may arise, a colored individual of great talents, 
merits, and wealth, may emerge from the crowd. Cases 
of this kind are to the last degree rare. The colored 
people are subjected to legal disabilities more or less 
galling and severe in almost every Slate in the Union. * 
* * * * And there is no reason to expect that tho 
lapse of centuries will make any change in this respect, 
(i. e. • the jealousy with which they are regarded.') 
They will always, unhappily, be regarded as an inferior 
race," — Carry's Litters, Lei. 12. 

" Mr. Everett, in a speech before the Colonization 
Society, 1833, says, "the free blacks fornj in Massachu- 



MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITION. 151 

setts about one seventy-fifili part of the population; one 
sixth of the convic/s in our prisons are of this class." 

A memorial presented to the Legislature of Connecti- 
cut, in 1834, stales " that not a week, hardly a (lay passes, 
that they (the free colored people,) are not in^plicated in 
the violation of some law. Assaults and batteries, inso- 
lence to the whites, compelling a breach of the peace, 
riot? in the streets, petty thcfis, and continual trespasses 
on property are such common occurrences resulting from 
the license they enjoys tint they have ceased to become 
subjects of remark. It is but recently that a band of 
Negroes paraded the streets of New Haven, armed with 
clubs and pistols and dirks, with the avowed purpose of 
preventing the law of the land from being enforced 
against one of the species. Upon being accosted by an 
officer of justice and commandeil to retire peacabh' to 
their homes, their only reply consisted of abuse and 
threats of personal violence. The law was overshad- 
owed and the oflicer consulted his own safely in a timely 
retreat." The memorial llien proceeds to show that the 
evil complained of has so rapidly progressed that the 
whiles have become the subject? of insult and abuse 
whenever ihey have refused to descend to familiarity 
with them : that themselves, their wives, and children, 
have been driven from the pavements, where they have 
not submitted to personal conflict; that from the licen- 
tiousness of their general habits, they have invariably 
depreciated the value of properly by their location in 
its neighborhood : and that from their notorious unclean- 
liness and filth, they have become common nuisances lO' 
the community." — Memorial. 

From the report of the warden of the Connecticut 
state prison, 183S, it appears " that tha number of 



153 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF TUB NEGROES. 

blacks in confinement compared with the whites is ten 
or twelve times greater than is the proportion of the 
black to the white population in the State." — Journal 
of Commerce, May 16, 1838. 

"The records of crime in the free States show a 
frightful disproportion in the numbers of white and 
black offenders, and most especially in those States 
where there are no disabilities or restrictions by law 
imposed upon the blacks." 

"In Massachusetts they are one seventy-fourth part of 
the population, yet they are in the proportion of one 
sixth of the convicts in the state prison. In Connecticut 
one thirty-fourth part of the whole, one third of the 
number in the penetenliary. New York one thirty-fifth 
and one fourth of the convicts. New Jersey one thir- 
teenth, and one third. Pennsylvania one thirty-fifth^ 
and one third. In Ohio the black population is one to 
one hundred and fifteen white ; convicts seven to one 
hundred. Vermont, by census of 1S30, contained 277,- 
000 souls; 918 were Negroes. In 1831 there were 
seventy-four convicts in the prison, and of these twenty- 
four were Negroes ! When compared with what is 
reported of the prisons of the slave-holding States, it is 
shown that the proportion of Negroes in the psnetentia- 
ries of the free States is in the ratio of more than ten to 
one in favor of the slave-holding States. * * * The 
free Negroes in Ohio, in the aggregate, are in no better 
condition, therefore, than the slaves in Kentucky. They 
are excluded from social intercourse with the whites, 
and whatever of education you may give them will not 
tend to elevate their standing to any considerable extent." 
— Report of the Committee on the Jvdiciary, relative 
to the repeal of laws reposing' restrictions and disa^ 



MOaAL AND REUGiaUS CONDITION. 153f 

hilities on blacks and mulattoes, by Mr. Gushing-, Feb. 
21, 1835. Agreed to unanim-ously. Legislature of 
Ohio. 

The view which has now been taken of the Moral 
and Rehgioiis Condiiio-n of the Negroes of the United 
States, will, we believe, justify us in the following g-ene- 
ral conclusions. 

1. They are intellectually and moral!}- a degraded 
people ; the most so of any in the United States ; — and 
while from their universal profession of the Christian 
system, and their attendance upon its ordinances of 
worship, and the absence of all fixed forms of idolatry, 
they cannot, strictly speaking be termed heathen; yet 
may they with propriety be termed the heathen of our 
land. 

% The majority of them have access to some kind of 
means of grace, either among themselves or in connec- 
tion with the whites; but ihey are not as efficient means 
as their necessities require; while multitudes of them 
are almost wholy destitute. Nor has the colored popu- 
lation, bond and free, either ability or will to supply 
themselves with the Gospel of the grace of God ; but 
are left in next to absolute dependence upon the permis- 
sion, the coxmtenance and assistance of the whites. 

3. They are living in manifold and gross sins; their 
iniquities are aggravated and great before the Lord, and 
not the least of them is their neglect and contempt of 
spiritual mercies and privileges within their reach. 
Thousands are annually descending to the grave and 
eternal misei'y, and they demand and ought to excite the 
benevolent feelings and efforts, for their salvation, of ih© 
churches of Christ throughout the Union. 



PART III. 

Obligations of the Church of Christ to attempt the 
Improvement of the Moral and Religious Cotidiiion 
of the Negroes iii the United Stales, by affording 
them the Gospel. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Obligations of the Church to aflbrd the Gospel to the Negroes. 

There are one or two positions upon which the argu- 
ment under this head is based, and as preliminary thereto 
demand attention. 

The Gospel is the gift of God to our lost and ruined 
race. Our Divine Lord "was made flesh" — John I: 
1-14. He took upon himself our nature: — Ht:b.Z: 
11-18; for our benefit. That benefit is eternal life. 
" In him was life, and the life was the light of men. — 
John 1 : 4, 17, 3. " For God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." — 3: 
16. " Thanks be unto God fur his unspeakable gift." -»^ 
2 Cor. 9 : 15. 



S56 ilELlGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

It hath pleased the Almighty, in his sovreignty, to 
bestow the Gospel upon but a portion of ihe human race. 
He has, however, chosen to employ human agency in 
extending the knowledge, and the consequent blessings 
of this glorious gift, to all mankind, in fulfilment of his 
expressed designs, and his own most precious promises. 
He has made it the duty under the most solemn com- 
mands, of all \\\\o possess the Gospel to impart it to those 
who are destitute of it. The possession of the gift 
implies the obligation to impart if. No man may ques- 
tion this position who allows himself to be guided by 
the conviction, of reason, the dictates of conscience, or 
the declarations of tlie word of God. 

In attempting to fulfil this duly, the general and the 
just rule of action is, that we iuipnrt the Gospel to those 
of our fellow-men who are most dependent upon us for it 
■ — who are 77ii>st needy and most accessible. 

These three peculiarities meet in the case of the 
Negroes; and cotisequoiilly tliey stand Jirst in their 
claims upon our henevoloiil attiMition. And our remarks 
in confirmation shall be directed, 

1. To the Negroes in the Slave States. 

They are the most dependent of all people itpon us for 
the word of life. 

A glance at the civil condition and connection of this 
people with us, will demonstrate the point. They are, 
in the eye of the law, -property ; over which there is an 
absolute control as such, excepting in so far as they are 
human beings, and by law are protected in life and limb. 
The law, however, make? no provision for their religious 
training, and all the privileges of religion are regulated 
-by the customs of society and the will of owners; nor 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHUKCH. 157 

ife it in the power of any one to interfere between the 
master and the servant, and dictate what privileges his 
servant ought and must enjoy, any more than he may 
interfere between parent and child. 

Throw these facts together. By law or custom, they 
are excluded from the advantages of education; and by 
consequence, from the reading of the word of God : 
and this immense mass of immortal beings is thrown for 
religions instruction upon oral communications entirely. 
And upon whom? Upon their oicncrs. And their 
owners, especially of late years, claim to be ihe exclusive 
guardians of their religious instruction, and the almoners 
of divine mercy towards them, thus assuming the respon- 
sibility of their entire christianizalion ! 

All approaches to them from abroad are rigidly guarded 
against, and no ministers are allowed to break to them 
the bread of life, except such as have commended them- 
selves to the affection and confidence of owners. I do 
not condemn this course of self-preservation on the part 
of our citizens. I mention it only to show more fully 
the point in hand ; the entire dcpendcnee of the Negroes 
upon ourselves for the Gospel. 

"While this step is taken, another has already been 
taken, and that of a long time; namely, Negro preachers 
are discouraged, if not suppressed, on the ground of 
incompetency and liability to abuse their office and 
influence to the injury of the morals of the people and 
the infringement of the laws and peace of the country. 
I would not go all the lengths of many on this point, for 
from my own observation, Negro preachers may be em- 
ployed and confided in, and so regulated as to do their 
own color great good, and community no harm : nor do I 
see, if we take the word of God for our guide, how we 
14 



158 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

can consistently exclude an entire people from access to 
the Gospel ministry, as it may please Almighty God from 
time to time, as he unquestionably does, to call some of 
them to it "as Aaron was." The discouragement of 
this class of preachers, throws the body of the people 
still more in their dependence upon ourselves, who indeed 
cannot secure ministers in sufficient numbers to supply 
our own wants. 

Nor have the Negroes any church organizations diffe- 
rent from or independent of our own. Such independent 
organization? are, indeed, not on the whole advisable. 
But the fact binds them to us with still stronger dependence 
And, to add no more, we may, according to the power 
lodged in our hands, forbid religious meetings, and 
religious instruction on our own plantations ; we may 
forbid our servants going to church at all, or only to 
such churches as we may select for them ; we may liter- 
ally shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, and 
suffer not them that are entering to go in ! 

It is not too much, therefore to say that the Negroes 
are in a state of almost absolute dependence upon their 
owners for the words of eternal life. 

They are the most needy of any people in our country. 
This is very evident, from the exposition which we have 
given of their dependence; as well as of their moral and 
religious character. They have no education, no imme- 
diate access to the word of God, no competent teachers 
of their own color, no competent number of white 
teachers, and are in a state of great ignorance and moral 
degradation. 

And lastly, they are the most accessible. They speak 
the same language with ourselves; dwell in the same 
land, at our own doors; and are members of our house- 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 159 

holds. No law forbids the religious instruction of the 
Negroes, orally, \,j proper instructers, either during the 
week or on the Sabbath day; and any minister of ihe 
Gospel, or any owner, may undertake the good work, 
and prosecute it as largely and as l(»ng as he pleases. 

We are prepared now to take up the obligation of the 
church of Christ in the slave-holding States to impart 
the Gospel of Salvation to the Negroes within those 
States. 

1. That obligation is imposed upon us in the first 
instance hi/ the providence oj God. 

This follows undeniably from all our previous state- 
ments, in the history of their religious instruction, and 
in the sketch of their moral and religious condition. 
But it may be of some service to be particular under 
this kead. It was by the permission of Almighty God, 
in his inscrutable providence over the affairs of men, 
that the Negroes were taken from Africa and transported 
to these shores. The inhabitants of the Colotiies at 
their first introduction had nothing to do with the iafa- 
mous traffic, and were, we may say, universally opposed 
to it. The iniquity of the traffic and of their first intro- 
duction, rests upon the Mother Country. 

Being brought here they were brought as slaves; in 
the providence of God we were constituted masters; 
superiors ; and constituted their guardians. And all 
the laws in relation to them, civilly, socially, and relig- 
iously considered, were framed by ourselves. They 
thus were placed under our control, and not exclusively 
for our benefit but for theirs also. 

We could not overlook the fact that they were men ; 
holding the same relations to God as ourselves — whose 
religious interests were certainly their highest and best^ 



160 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

and that our first and fundamental duty was to provide 
to the extent of our ability, for the perpetual security of 
those interests. Our relations to them and their relations 
to us, continue the same to the present hour, and the 
providence of God still binds upon us the great duty of 
imparting to them the Gospel of eternal 14 fe. 

2. The obligation is imposed upon us hy the word of 
God. 

As already evinced from general principles and com- 
mands ; the sunj of all is, that the Gospel is the gift of 
God to men, and those, who possess it are bound to 
bestow it, upon those who do not. 

A. few passages of a general character may be ad- 
vanced, bearing strongly on the point in hand. 

" Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to 
every creature." Our Lord in this command recognizes 
men, not as of a particular nation or color, but collect- 
ively, as the intelligent and accountable creatures of 
God. " God hath made of one blood all the nations of 
men." It is therefore necessary that the Gospel be 
preached to the Negroes as well as to the other varieties 
of the race, and seeing that they have not put it from 
them, nor judged themselves unworthy of everlasting 
life, we carmot, vve dare not, neglect them and turn to 
others. 

".Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." And 
who are our neighbors if the Negroes are not? They 
are members of the same great family of men ; and 
members of our own communities and parts of our very 
households ; and spend their days in our service. If we 
see them stripped of necessary religious privileges, and 
lying in their depravity, helpless, and exposed to eternal 
^^ath, shall we be neighbors unto them if we look upon 



OBLrGATrONS OF THE CHURCH. 101 

Shem and see their misery and pass by without affording, 
them what relief may be in our power ? 

"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do 
to you, do you even so to them." Were we in the con- 
dition of the Negro and he in our own ; able to read 
and to appreciate the word of God, and to impart it to 
us, wouJd we not think it his duty to do it? Yes. And 
if he neglected that duty we should consider him defi- 
cient both in humanity and religion. 

But we advance a step further. The word of God 
recognizes the relation of viaftter and servant, and 
addresses express commands to ns as masters. 

In the constitution of his visible church on earth 
Almighty God included the servants of families ; com- 
manded the sign of his everlasting and gracious cove- 
nant to be made in their flesh, and thereby secured to 
them, as well as to children the privileges and blessings 
of the same. He would have them trained up in the 
knowledge of his most holy name and for his service: 
nor must they be neglected, nor excluded. Gen. 17: 
12-13. " And he that is eight days old shall be cir- 
cumcised among you, every man child in your genera- 
tions, he that is born in the house or bought with money 
of any stranger, which is nat of thy seed ; " and the 
command is repeated, to show his tender regard for the 
poor, and that his covenant embraces them. "He that 
is born in thy house and he that is bought with thy 
money must needs be circumcised ; and my covenant 
shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant." In 
obedience to this command Abraham " in the self-same 
day circumcised his son Ishmael and all that were born 
in his house, and all that were bought with his money." 
r. 23. He apprehended Uie will of God as expressed 
14* 



W2 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES; 

in the covenant, and received the divine approbation : 
"for I know him that he will command liis children and 
his household after hiraj and they shall keep the way of 
tlie Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may 
bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of himi" 
Ge7i. 18: 19. 

The rest of the Sabbatlr was secured to servants in 
the Decalogue : " in it thou shalt not do any work, thou 
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servavt nor ihy 
m.aid-servant.^' — Exod. 20 :. 8—11. The sacred festi- 
vals were opened to them, and along with their masters 
they were to rejoice before the Lord : they were also to 
present sacrifices and offerings to the Lord, in the 
appointed place and eat of them "before the Lord," 
with their masters. "Thou raayest not eat, within thy 
gates, the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of ihy 
oil, or the firstlings of thy herds, or of thy flocks, nor 
any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free will 
offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: but thou 
must eat them before the Lord, in the place which the 
Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy son and thy 
daughter, and thy mhan-serDant and thy maid-servant,''* 
— Deut. 12: 17, 18. " A.nd thou shalt keep the 
feast of weeks: and thou shalt rejoice before the 
Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughtei', and 
thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant.'''' So also 
" the feast of tabernacles.^'' — Deut. 16:1- 16. 

Thus in i\\e Old Testament, the law of God, and the 
Sanctuary and all its privileges, were opened to servants 
and secured to them by the declared will of God: and 
it was the duty of masters to command their households 
after them, that they should keep the way of the Lord 
to do justice and judgment : otherwise the Lord would 
not bring upon them 4he promised blessings. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH, 163 

The New Testament is, if possible more explicit. 

In several epistles, the relation of master and servant 
is recognized, and the mutual duties of each arising out' 
of that relation mutually insisted upon. Masters and 
servants are addressed as belonging to the same churches 
and heirs of the same grace of life : 1 Tim. 6 : 1 — 5. 
Eph. Col. 

What kind of servants are intended? Slaves: the 
original teaches us so, while the very duties enjoined, 
upon servants and the obseivations made upon their con- 
dition, (I Cor. 7 : 20 — J2,) confirms the fact that they 
were literally Sialics. And the kind of slavery that ex- 
isted among the Jews was that allowed in the Old Testa- 
ment; which may be considered identical with that 
which prevails amongst us at the present time ; and no 
one will deny that the slavery which existed among the 
Greeks and Romans and Gentile nations, was identical 
with our own. All authentic history, and the codifica- 
tion of the Roman laws made in the reign of Justinian, 
prove it. The slaves were more heterogenous in their 
national origin, than ours. Among them however exist- 
ed Negroes : and in no small numbers. Indeed a traffic 
in Negro slaves had been carried on for centuries before 
Isabella gave permission for their transportation to these 
western shores ; and they were sold and scattered over all 
the east. 

When therefore the New Testament addresses com- 
mands to Masters, we are the identical per sons intended. 
We are Masters in the New Testament sense. We are. 
addressed as directly and as identically, as when we are 
Fathers, and it is said " FafA.cr.9 pi ovoke not your child- 
ren to wrath." 

And what are these commands ? "And ye Masters, 



164 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening : 
knowing that your Master also is in Heaven : neither i9 
'there respect of persons with him." Epli. 6 : 9. 

As servants are exhorted to fulfil their duties to their 
masters, "as the servants of Christ, doing the will of 
God from the heart : " having respect to their accounta- 
bility to God ; so also masters are exhorted to do the 
same things, to fulfil their duties to their servants, from 
the same principle of obedience to God and respect to- 
future accountability. 

" Masters give unto your servants that which is just 
and equal : knowing that ye also have a Master in Hea- 
ven." CoZ. 4 : 1. Masters are here required to treat 
their servants justly and equitably, in respect, of course,, 
to all their interests, both for time and eternity ; for they 
shall account to God for the same. 

Thus doth God put his finger upon us as Masters. He 
holds up before our faces our servants and our duties to 
them. He commands us to fulfil those duties under the 
pain of his displeasure. He tells us that in the perfor- 
mance of duty he does not respect us more than he res- 
pects them. 

Can any one doubt that among the duties of Masters, 
is that of imparting, and causing to be imparted to them 
the Gospel of Salvation ? Supposing Masters gave unto 
their servants that which was just and equal for this pres- 
ent life — diwdi gave no more: would that come up to 
the spirit and power of the command ? Would it be just 
and equal for masters to suffer them to remain in igno- 
rance of the way of salvation, to die and be eternally 
lost? Surely not. Says Job. " If I did despise the 
cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, when 
they contended with me : what shall I do when God. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 165 

riseth up ? And when he visilelh what shall I answer 
him ? Did not he that made me in the womb, make him ? 
And did not one fashion us in the womb? " If we ne- 
glect to evangelize our servants, they may justly have a 
controversy with us ; and; if we continue to despise their 
cause, in the day when God riseth up for judgement, 
we shall be speechless. 

Thus by the providerice and word of God are we un- 
der obligations to impart the Gospel to our servanis. 

It may be added, that we cannot disregard this obli- 
gation thus divinely imposed, without forfeiting our 
humanity, our gratitude, our consistency, and our claira 
to the spirit of Christianity itself. 

Our Humanity. 

Humanity is that kindness and good will towards our 
fellow creatures which prompts us to sympathize with 
them in their necessities and sufferings, and to exert our- 
selves for their relief. 

The Lord Jesus has furnished us with the most beau- 
tiful and striking illustrations of this virlue. "What 
man shall there be among you, thai sh.ill have one sheep, 
and if it fall into a pit: will he not lay hold on it and 
lift it out?" "Doth not each one of you, loose his ox 
or his ass from the stall and lead him away to watering? 
And ought not this woman beingadaughler of Abraham, 
whom Satan hath bound, lo these eighteen years, be 
loosed from this bond ? " Matt. 12: 10—13 Luke 
13: 14 — 16, 14; 2 — 6. Apply the reasoning : "How 
much then is a man belter than a sheep or an ox?" 
When our servants are sick and diseased, we do not suf- 
fer them lo want; we physic and nurse them. But are 
not their souls. more precious than their bodies'^ Much 
more then should we lift our servants from the pit of igno- 



166 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

ranee, moral pollution and death into which they have 
fallen. Much more should we strive to loose them 
(bound for so many years! ) from the bonds of sin and 
satan and lead away their famishing souls to the water 
of life. 

Oar Gratitude. They nurse us in infancy, contribute 
to our pleasures and pastimes in youth ; and furnish 
us with the means of education. They constitute 
our wealth, and yield us all the comforts and conve- 
niences of life ; they may in a degree adopt towards 
us, the language of Jacob to Laban, " tluis I was: in 
ihe day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night 
and my sleep departed from mine eyes:" they watch 
around our languishing beds in sickness; share in our 
misfortunes, weep over ijs when we die ; prepare us for 
the burial and carry us to the house appointedfor aU the 
living. 

The obligations, the sacrifice and service arenottobe 
all on one side, in the relation of master and servant. If 
we have been made partakers of their carraa/ things, our 
duty is also to minister unto them in spiritual things, 
Rum. 15: 27. 1 Co?'. 9 : 11. And shall we consider 
it " a great thing " to fulfil this duty? The kindest and 
tlie most grateful return which we can make them, is to 
put them in possession of the i idlest gift of God to men, 
the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

If we neglect to do this, we shall forfeit also our con- 
sistejicy. 

Consistency is the correspondence of our conduct oi; 
practice wiih our professed principles. EzraS'. 22. 
And It is an exceedingly rare virtue. 

As philanthropists and christians, we are contributing 
o( our substance ; and offering up our prayers,^ that 



"^'1?*', 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 16? 

Christ's kingdom may come, and that his Gospel may 
Ibe preached to every people under heaven. We have 
indeed assisted in sending missionaries to the heathen, 
thousands of miles from us ; and to multitudes of desti- 
tute while settlements in our own country ; in founding 
Theological Seminaries and filling them with students, 
that the demand for laborers in the great harvest might 
be supplied. We have assisted in having the gospel 
preached in our public prisons ; in the harbors of our 
sea-port cities, and along the lines of our canals and the 
shores of our lakes and rivers, to those who do business 
on the great waters. W^e have assisted in gathering the 
children of parents of every condition into Sabbath 
Schools; and in efforts to stay the swellings of the fiery 
waves of intemperance. We have been printing Bibles 
and tracts and religious works, with which to supply 
every family and every individual in our land, and also 
to meet the urgent demands for the same from other 
lands. This is all as it should be. But what have we 
done publicly, systematically and perscveringly for the 
Negroes, in order that they also might enjoy the gospel 
of Christ? W^hy are they as a class overlooked by us 
in our benevolent regards and efibrts? What blindness 
hath happened to us in part, that we cannot see their 
spiritual necessities and feel the claims which they un- 
deniably have upon us ? Our Lord in view of our works, 
will say to us, " these ought ye to have done and not to 
leave the other undone." 

We cannot cry out against the Papists for withholding 
the Scriptures from the common people and keeping 
them in ignorance of the way of life, for our inconsis- 
tency is as great as theirs, if we withhold the Bible from 
our servants, and keep ihem in ignoiance of its saving 



168 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGK0E3. 

truths, which we certainly do while we will not provide 
ways and means of having it read and explained to 
them. 

The celebrated John Randolph, on a visit to a female 
friend, found her surrounded with her seamstresses, 
making up a quantity of clothing. "What work have 
you in hand ? " " O sir, I am preparing this clothing to 
Send to the poor Greeks." On taking leave at the steps 
of the mansion, he saw some of her servants in need of 
the very clothing which their tender-hearted mistress 
was sending abroad. He exclaimed, " Madam, madam, 
the Greeks are at your door /" 

If we neglect to impart the Gospel to the Negroes, 
our inconsistency will be m.ost glaring and shameful. 

And furthermore, we shall forfeit our claim to the 
spirit of Christianity itself. 

The remarks under the head o{ consistency evidenced 
this position, but nevertheless it will allow of a distinct 
consideration. 

This spirit is Zo2)<?. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with all 
thy strength ; and thy neighbor as thyself." Love is 
of God. "He that loveth is born of God, for God is 
love." "In this was manifested the love of God tow- 
ards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son 
into the world, that we might live through him." — 1 
John 4: 7- 11. His love has respect to the immortal 
souls of men ; their everlasting salvation. For this our 
Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and labored, 
suffered and died on the cross. The same spirit is 
wrought in the hearts of all who are truly his disciples. 
Their chief joy is the glory of God in the salvation of 
men ; the increase of the church upon the earth. The 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 169 

cherished and ever-living desire of their soul is that men 
may be converted to God. To effect this conversion 
they wilHiigly labor and submit to sacrifices, even, if 
need be, unto death. This is the spirit vphich burns and 
glows in all the word of God ; unquenchable — invinci- 
ble in its progress, because originated and sustained by 
the grace and power of the Almighty. 

" I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barba- 
rians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as much 
as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you 
that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the 
Gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto 
salvation, to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first 
and also to the Greek." "I say the truth in Christ, I 
lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the 
Holy Ghost; that I have great heaviness and continual 
sorrow of heart. For I eould wish that myself were 
accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen accor- 
ding to the flesh."— Rom. 1 : 14- 16, and9:l-3. " For 
the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge 
that if one died for all, then were all dead : and he died 
for all that they which live, should not henceforth live 
imto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and 
rose again." — 2 Cor. 5 : 14- 15. "I will very gladly 
spend and be spent for you (for your souls,") — 12: 15. 
"Yea, and if I be offered (i. e. my strength and life 
offered up,) upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, 
I joy and rejoice with you all." — Phil. 2:17. 

Where then this spirit is wanting, there is wanting 
the very spirit of Christianity itself. 

"The salt has lost his savor; wherewith shall it be 
salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be 
15 



1 70 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men!" — - 
Mat. 5: 13-16. 

The idea that we possess the spirit of Chiistianity in 
its perfection, while we constantly and directly neglect 
the evangelization of the Negroes, when it lies within our 
power, is preposterous in the extreme. We are neither 
" the light of the world : " nor " the salt of the earth." 

Reverse the order of Providence. Let us recur to 
the illustration already adduced. Were we in the con- 
dition of the Negro, and he in our condition, able to 
read and to appreciate the Gospel : experimentally ac- 
quainted with it: a partaker of its privileges and of its 
eternal hopes ; would we consider it his duty, (a duty 
which he was well able to perform,) to make us parta- 
kers with himself in the Gospel: that Gospel to which 
we have a right as the gift of God to all men ; and which 
we could claim at his hands as the divinely appointed 
almoner of God's mercy to us : that Gospel which is 
every thing to perishing sinners and which alone could 
yield us happiness in our humble lot? Certainly we 
should. Suppose he would or he did not 1 Could we 
believe that he sincerely felt all the amazing and soul- 
stirring truths which the Gospel contains? Could we 
believe that he possessed the spirit of the Gospel ? No, 
no ! we could not ! 

"There is that scattereth and yet increaseth ; and 
there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tend- 
eth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and 
he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that 
withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him ; but bles- 
sing shall be upon the head of him that sellelh it." — 
Prov. 11: 24-26. "Now if any man have not the 
spirit of Christ, he is none of his." — Rovi. 8: 9. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 171 

"Whoso hath this world's goods and seeth his brother 
have need and shiitteth up his bowels of compassion 
from him, how dwellelh the love of God in him? " — 1 
John 3: 16-20. With more tremendous emphasis let 
it be asked " Whoso hath the word of eternal life and 
seeth his brother have need, and shiitteli up his bowels 
of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God 
inliim? Let this question be answered to that God 
who without respect of persons judgeth according to 
every man's work ! 

Such are the considerations which we must address to 
ourselves, Avho re&ide in the Southern States, in order 
that we may be awakened to the great duty of imparting 
the Gospel to the Negroes. 

2. We now turn to the Negroes in the free States. 

And our remaks on the duty of affording them the 
Gospel, need not be protracted after what has been said. 

It is the duty of the white churches in the free States 
to afford the Gospel to the Negroes, for the following 
plain reasons among others. 

1. Because of their general poverty. 

They are, as a class, a poor people; among, if not, 
" the poor of the land." And consequently are not able 
to give suitable encouragement to the institutions of 
religion ; not able to build churches, support ministers, 
or buy books and maintain Sabbath schools. The means 
must come from purses other than their own. Such 
has been the fact in the majority of instances where 
the Gospel has received an adequate support among 
them. More than the majority have little or nothing to 
give ; they barely make out to obtain the necessaries of 
life. 



172 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

2. Because of their moral degradation. 

This has been in a measure demonstiated. The 
statements already made need not be repeated. They are 
a proper field for missionary effort ; and have been to a 
great extent, very strangely overlooked. Such a mass 
of ignorance and vice can in no way be desirable in any 
community, w^hether we view them in a civil or religious 
light. Their corrupting influence in cities, where they 
chiefly congregate, has never been inquired into, nor duly 
appreciated. 

3. Because of their entire dependence upon the whites 
for their every improvement. 

They have almost no spirit of moral improvement 
among themselves ; it is not to be expected from ihem 
considering their character and circumstances. They 
have no men of influence, no leaders of their own colore 
who are able to sway the people ; to project and execute 
plans for their general religious improvement. Nor 
have they societies of their own for the purpose. The 
truth is, they do not look to themselves ; they do not 
depend upon themselves. They look up to and depend 
upon the whites. The feeling of subjection and depen- 
dence which they had in a state of slavery, is hereditary 
and is kept alive by the frequent accession of Negroes, 
escaped from servitude or set free. Then the vast supe- 
riority of the whites in point of numbers, intelligence, 
morality, and station, cherish it. Hence the efforts of 
the whites for their benefit are received with special 
favor and relied upon. At least it was so in times past. 
They have of late years been taught to distinguish 
between friendly and hostile whites; and they have 
been inflated with high notions of their perfect equality 
with the whites in wisdom, standing, rights, and impor- 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 17 3 

tance. The effect has been, and it should not be deemed 
extraordinary, that they have become rather heady and 
high-minded ; some of their friends have not been able 
to do them the good that they wished ; and others 
disguted, have ceased to feel and to act for them. 
Whether they will be ultimately benefitted by this 
increase of knowledge and sense of importance, remains 
to be seen. : 

4, Because of consistency. 

The efforts for the moral and religious improvemen 
of the Negroes in the free States, do not correspond 
with the profession of interest in them, as a class of 
people. 

"With some, the bestowment oi freedom is the sum of 
all duty. And freedom, is the grand catholicon for all 
the evil* which harrass and oppress the colored man. 
It has not proved exactly so, in the free States. There 
are districts in Rhode Island, in New Jersey, New York, 
and Delaware, once peopled with Negroes. They were 
emancipated on the soil, and now there is scarcely one 
to be seen. They have been scattered and driven off, 
and have melted away before the whites. Their few 
descendants are "making out to live" in cities, and in 
country situations, here and there. At the present day 
the Negroes are not reached as a class by education and; 
religion. They are not a desirable population — so 
confessed on all hands ; and their intelligence, morality 
and thrift in the free States, give but poor encourage- 
ment to the doctrine of emancipation in those parts of 
the Union where they are held to service. 

The overwhelming majority in the free States are 
whites. They possess all the intelligence, wealth, and 
power; and move on without disturbance from the few 
15* 



174 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

Negroes among them. The weight of the Negroes upon 
the wheels of society is scarcely felt. But what would 
be the state of things if the whites were in the minority 
and they the majority ? I shall not undertake to furnish 
an answer to the qqestion which every man of ordinary 
consideration can do for himself the moment after it is 
put to him. The great duty of the churches and friends 
of the Negroes in the free States, is to attempt, more 
systematically and efficiently, their moral and religious 
improvement. 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 175 



CHAPTER I 1, 

EXCUSES. 

I shall proceed immediately to the excuses m relation 
to a discharge of the obligations now proved to rest 
upon the church of Christ in the United States, to 
attempt the improvement of the moral and religious 
condition of the Negroes, usually advanced in the slave- 
holding States. In giving them a candid consideration 
those made in the free States may in a measure be anti- 
cipated. 

The Negroes have the Gospel already. 

They have access to the churches on the Sabbath, 
and hear the same preaching that their masters do ; they 
are favored frequently with services from the ministers, 
expressly for their instruction ; they are received into, 
and are under the watch and discipline of the white 
churches; there are some Sabbath schools for them; 
they have plantation prayers, and numerous preachers 
and exhorlers of their own color, and some of them 
are able to read ; nor do they know any other religion 
but the Christian religion. 

It is true they have access to the house of God on the 
Sabbath; but it is also true that even where the privi- 



176 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

lege is within their reach, a minority only, (and frequently 
a very small one) embrace it. There are multitudes of 
districts in the South and Southwest, in which the 
churches cannot contain one-tenth of the Negro popula- 
tion ; besides others in which there are no churches at 
all. It must be remembered also that in many of those 
churches there is preaching only once a fortnight, or 
once a month, and then perhaps only one sermon. To 
say that they fare as well as their masters does not settle 
the point; for great numbers of masters have very few 
or no religious privileges at all. 

The direct preaching of ministers to the Negroes is 
well, and is a great benefit. But the number who do this 
is far smaller than it should be. The ordinary preaching 
to the whites makes little impression upon the blacks, 
being above their comprehension and not made applica- 
ble to them. Hence their stupid looks, their indifferent 
staring, their profound sleeps, and their thin attendance. 
"What is there to light up the countenance with intelli- 
gence; to rivet attention; to banish drowsiness, so 
common to laboring men and men unaccustomed to think 
when sitting still ; what is there to attract them to the 
house of God ? Nothing but sound and show. Solid 
instruction, pungent appeals to the conscience, will bring 
men to the house of God and retain them in attendance 
there, and nothing else will. But divine truth is not 
thus adapted to the Negroes, by ministers, in their ser- 
mons to the whites ; and those Negroes who enjoy such 
a dispensation of the Gospel as this, upon careful exam- 
ination, are found to be sadly deficient in a knowledge 
of religion, and we are surprised to find Christianity in 
absolute conjunction with a people and yet conferring 
upon them so few benefits.. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 177 

The general preaching to the whites will not answer 
the purpose. The Negroes require preaching specially 
adapted to them. It is true they are received into, and 
are under the watch and care of, white churches ; but 
that fact does not prove that they are properly enlight- 
ened, and are continued under courses of instruction, so 
that the)- go on unto perfection. In hundreds of 
instances the very reverse is the fact; their ignorance, 
superstition, and deception are complained of. Their 
piety is taken upon trust ; and the numerous and per- 
plexing cases of discipline for gross immoralities suffi- 
ciently prove that the complaints uttered against them 
are well founded. A man must not stand on the outside 
of a church and judge of the church character and 
standing of these people, he must go within. 

The Sabbath schools for their exclusive benefit, taking 
the entire population, need scarcely be named. Their 
plantation meetings serve to keep alive religion among 
them, but contribute little to the increase of their intel- 
ligence ; while there are hundreds of plantations where 
there are no such meetings at all, there being few or no 
church members to conduct them. 

We have colored ministers and exhorters, but their 
numbers are wholly inadequate to the supply of the 
Negroes; and while their ministrations are infrequent 
and conducted in great weakness, there are some of 
them whose moral characteris justly suspected and who 
may be considered blind leaders of the blind. 

It is true there are no forms of idolatry prevalent 
among them, nor have the cotrvptions of Christianity 
made progress among them, the field being too low and 
poor to enlist the sympathies of the leadeis and advo- 
cates of such corruption, except the Papists, who in 



178 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

some of our chief towns have proselyted some of them ; 
yet Christianity, as understood and professed by them, is, 
as I have already attempted to show, exceedingly im- 
perfect, and needing great improvement. 

The Negroes are incapable of receiving religious 
■instruction, except to a very limited extent. 

From the manner in which their religions instruction 
is neglected, it would appear that their incapacity is 
taken for granted. Appealing to our own experience 
in their instruction, we should judge the objection to be 
a mistake. They are capable, even under oral instruc- 
tion, and that not enjoyed in any high degree of perfec- 
tion, of making very considerable advances in religious 
knowledge. 

But if they are capable of receiving instruction suffi- 
cient to make plain to them the way of salvation, then 
their capacities should be filled to overflowing, to that 
extent. In all reason and conscience deny it not to 
them, for it is their everlasting life. The mind of man 
is created so as to admit of eternal expansion and pro- 
gression in knowledge and holiness. The good work 
which is done for them in time will be carried forward 
unto perfection in eternity. 

But to pursue the excuse a step further. It is cus- 
tomary with many to entertain low opinions of the 
intellectual capacity of the Negroes. Whether this be 
right or wrong we leave every man to judge for himself 
after a due investigation of the subject ; and to judge, 
likewise, whether their mental weakness is to be attrib- 
uted to the circumstances of their condition, or to any 
difference as made by tlie Author of their existence 
between them and other men. If God has made such 
a difference, it cannot be proved to be any impeachment 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH, 179 

either of his wisdom, goodness, or justice. Such a 
difference exists between individuals without any such 
impeachment, and may exist in like man-ner between the 
races of mankind. But to suppose the Negroes too 
stupid to comprehend the essential doctrines of Christi- 
anity is certainly to disregard the testimony of God's 
word, the witness of his Spirit, the evidence of facts. 

What saith the Scripture? "He hath made of one 
blood all nations of men that dwell on all the face of the 
earth;" and again, "God is no respecter of persons ; 
but in every nation he that feareth him and vvorketh 
righteousness is accepted with him." — Acts 10 : 34,35. 
What then can be plainer than that all men have one 
common origin , and that all are capable of exercising 
proper affections towards God ; and this necessarily im- 
plies a capability of understanding the divine law. If it 
be allowed that the Negroes are men, then these things 
are true in regard to them, and thus by the word of God 
does it appear that they are capable of understanding the 
Gospel. And does not the Spirit of God bear witness to 
their capacity? Are there not great numbers who have 
been enlightened, regenerated, and sanctified by him? 
Their ignorance of divine subjects is owing to their want 
of proper instruction, and not at all to any defect of 
mental constitution. 

The Gospel meets with little success among them. 

Grant the fact to be so ; from the view which has been 
taken of the limited instruction of the Negroes and their 
extremely ignorant and vicious condition, and the feeble 
encouragement which many receive in their efforts to 
lead a religious life, our wonder more naturally might be, 
not that the Gospel meets with little success among thera 
but that it meets with ani/ success at all. 



180 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

The excuse indicates a want of patience and proper 
feeling and consideration. If the Negroes in a state of 
ignorance and vice are not made intelligent and pious in 
a few days, we are ready to cry out that labor is vain ; 
the field must be abandoned as an unprofitable one. We 
act unreasonably and uncharitably. We expect more of 
them than of ourselves or any other people. They who 
would evangelize servants must " let Patience have her 
perfect work.'' 

It certainly comes with a very ill grace from us to speak 
of the little success of the Gospel amongst the Negroes. 
That little success is our condemnation ; for what great 
efforts have we made that we should expect great success. 
Where we bestow little labor, we must expect but little 
reward. 

But I apprehend that in the judgment of charity, con- 
sidering the circumstances of the Negroes, the Gospel, 
when adequately preached to them, meets with as good 
success as among any other people to whom it may 
come. Why should it not.^ Can it be shown that they 
are given over to judicial blindness of mind and hard- 
ness of heart 1 Can it be shown that a work of grace 
in them is more difficult to the Omnipotent Spirit, than 
in another people? 

If the Gospel has met with any success at all, it 
should operate as an encouragement to us, to make 
more vigorous efforts. Putting that success at the lowest 
point the salvation of but one soul, it is certainly great. 
For were it now revealed to us that the most extensive 
system of instruction which we could devise, requiring 
a vast amount of labor and protracted through ages, 
would result in the tender mercy of our God in the sal- 
vation of the soul of one poor African, we should feel 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 181' 

warranted in cheerfully entering upon our work, with 
all its costs and sacrifices; for our reward would exceed 
all our toil and care above the computation of any 
finite mind. 

But to set aside the excuse at once, if the Gospel met 
with Jto success at all, that would be no reason why we 
should withhold it from the Negroes. For if we cer- 
tainly determine (as we have already done,) that it is 
our duty io give them the Gospel, we as certainly should 
do it. The success of our efforts belongs to God ; nor 
are we to limit his sovreigntyin granting or withholding 
a blessing, to any particular time. W e are to labor 
in faith, and we are to labor on. "In due i.ime wc shall 
rsap if we faint not." Thus acling, their blood will not 
be required at our hands; we have delivered our souls. 
This is the view which every Christian should take of 
the subject. And it becomes us to observe that God has 
manifestly been speaking to us in favor of our servants. 
He has called many of them into his kingdom and made 
them rich in faith, as we do know. We have not as yet 
listened to his voice. It is time that we should. He 
tells us that he is willing to bless the Gospel to their 
salvation. Shall we neglect them? Shall wc despise 
God's voice ? 

Wc have not the means of supplying them with the 
Gospel. 

The whites themselves are destitute; we cannot obtain 
ministers in sufficient numbers to supply our own desti- 
tutions; and when ministers may be obtained, we are 
not at all times able to support them. Servants cannot 
expect to fare better than tlieir masters. Great numbers 
must necessarily continue destitute of the Gospel. 
16 



183 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

There is mucli truth, and painful truth, in the excuse. 
Our destitutions are very great! " The harvest truly is 
plenteous, but the laborers are few;" and few, indeed, 
in comparison with our wants, seem to be coming forward. 
But the excuse cannot be admitted as valid, where suit- 
able efforts have not been made to procure a minister, 
«nd suitable compensation offered for his services, when 
such compensation can be afforded by those who call for 
his services. There is criminal neglect in Loth particu- 
lars in many neighborhoods and even organized churches. 
There is too an error in the excuse, that of separating 
the spiritual wants of the owners from thoFe of their 
eervaiils. They form one community, one household, 
and he that ministers to one, should to the other. The 
loaf should be divided, yea, if it be but half a loaf. 

There are muliitudes of Negroes in certain locations 
left wholly destitute of religious instruction : and where 
are their owners? In some city, or at some healthy 
retreat, enjoying the privileges of the Gospel with their 
families and a small number of their servants, while the 
great body of them, who supply all their wealth and 
comfort, are at a distance, and not one dollar appropri- 
ated, nor one effort made to procure their religious 
instrucion ! Yea, some estates are in this condition, 
ivhose income would warrant the employment of a chap- 
lain or missionary the year round ! Is this rendering to 
servants that *^ which is just and equal?" Our means 
lire more abundant and may be more enlarged and mul- 
tiplied than we are aware of. An enumeration of them 
1 omit for the present. 

There are peculiar and great difficulties to he overcome. 

Such for example as the ignorance, indifference, and 
in some instances, the opposition of masters ; and the 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CmuKCH. 183 

want of funds — of missionaries — of ministers willing 
to labor for tlie Negroes — of systems of instruction j 
the stupidity, and viciousness, and hypocrisy of the 
people themselves; confinement to oral instruction ; the 
unhealthiness of the climate, and so forth We ask, will 
these and other difficulties that might be mentioned be 
removed by being let alone? Are there means nr>w in 
operation for their removal? Will they ever be fewer in 
number than they are at the present time? 

There are difficulties in every enterprise of benevo- 
lence ; and if we wait in our efforts to do good until 
men cease to multiply excuses and objections, and until 
all difficulties are removed, we shall never commence. 
Times have suddenly and strangely altered in the world 
if Christians can do good and perform their duly, witlioul 
encountering much that will try the purity and lirmness 
of their purposes. Shall we cower and retire before 
difficulties? By no means. We are to encoiinlfr them 
patiently, kindly, perseveringly ; casting our care upon 
God. lie calls us to the duty. The work is his. In 
his strength we labor. Do difficulties present themselves? 
Remember God is great. Difficulties appear large in 
the distance, but the nearer and more resolute our r.d* 
vance the smaller they beconie, until when in the strength 
of the Lord we encounter them they vanish out of sight. 
'Bm of ichose creation are these difficulties? l?i them- 
selves, we meet with no difficulties but such as arise 
from the natural enmity of the heart to the truth. The 
difficuties lie mainly at our own door, and it is unjust 
that they should be made the innocrnt sufferers. 

Before this head of excuses is closed there are a few 
sometimes urged by owners and ministers, which may 
better be disposed of in this place than in any other. 



184 RELIGIOUS INSTKUCTIOX OF THE NEGROES. 

I am a master, but no Christian, and am therefore 
excused from the duty. 

Not at all. If the fact of being no Christian excuses 
you from obedience to the divine command of rendering 
to your servants that which is just and equal, then may 
you be excused from obedience to every other divine 
command addressed to you in your various circumstances 
and relations in life. The commands of God in themselves 
considered, are no more obligatory upon the man that 
is a Christian, ihan upon the man that is not a Christian. 
If you have not the necessary character and qualifica- 
tions of a religious friend and teacher of your servants 
because you have failed to secure them, through grace, by 
" repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ," the greater is your sin and condemnation. 
You not only have the punishment of your own impeni- 
tency to bear, but all the consequences of it upon those 
around you, especially as it disqualifies you for a pro- 
per discharge of your duties to them. A most distressing 
situation truly. The excuse will not bear the light. 
Pursue it a little further. You feel it to be your duty to 
afford religious instruction to your children, and to sup- 
port the institutions of the Gospel for ihesake of society 
at large. As far as you are able you will get others to 
do for your family and friends and neighbors, what you 
cannot do for them yourself This is commendable and 
just. Now act in the same way towards your servants. 
Make efforts to have that religious instruction communi- 
cated to them by others which you cannot communicate 
yourself, and give them every encouragement to attend 
upon it and to profit by it, in your power. 

Although I hope I am a Christian^ yet 1 am not quali- 
fitd to instruct my servants. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. IS5 

You are not, in giving them saving instruction from 
the word of God, either expected or required to give 
them a theological education : or a complete understanding 
of the whole Bible. The grand points of doctrine and 
of duty; the things essential to be believed and to be 
done, are what you understand and have experience of, 
if you are a Christian; and if you will be at a little 
pains you may be able to make others understand them 
also ; and you can give them the reasons why they 
should embrace them, for the reasons had weight with 
you and operate in their influence upon you continually. 
The very least expected of a Christian, is that he read 
the scriptures and pray in his family day by day. Jf you 
can do no more, you can assemble your servants and 
read a portion of scripture and pray with them, if not 
every day, then as frequently during the week as your 
circumstances will admit of 

This religion which allows a man to live in the habit- 
ual neglect of the religious instruction of his servants, 
when he is qualified or may qualify himself to attend to 
it, however much he may seem to be engaged in his own 
family or church, admits of the most serious question as 
to its reality. 

But / liim away from my people ; I see them twice or 
thrice during the week; sometimes not for a month, or 
months. 

The system of non-residence , whether from necessity 
on account of health ; or from choice, to be free from 
care, or to be in the midst of society for the advantages 
of education and religion, is one of the greatest obsta- 
cles with which we have to contend in both the physical 
and religious improvement of the Negroes. And the 
system prevails to a great extent. It is easier to see the 
16* 



186 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

evils, than to remedy them. To meet the excuse it need 
only be said, when you are with your people take some 
interest in their religious slate; speak to them on the 
subject; notice the memi)ers of the church; meet with 
them at evening prayers. When you are away at your ease, 
full of health and pleasure and privileges, do not forget 
those who by their daily labor enable you to enjoy all these 
blessings, and be at trouble and expense to procure for 
them the services of some settled minister in their vicin- 
ity or some missionary. Let them have that which will 
not empoverish you, but enrich them for ever I 

The management and the religious instruction of 
servants cannot be united in one person. 

How do you reconcile such an assertion, in excuse for 
neglect of duty, with the holy Scriptures ? The manage- 
ment and the religious instruction of servants are united 
in the master by them. — Gen. IS: 19. The relations 
of master and servant are recognized, and the duties of 
them enjoined; and the duties must be performed, other- 
wise the scriptures are not fulfilled. How do you recon- 
cile your assertion, with the experierice of some masters ? 
There are masters who have succeded in uniting the two 
and with advantage every way. 

You reply, my instruction seems to do my people little 
good; they are more disposed to receive instruction from 
strangers than from myself 

This may all be true; and true for very good reasons. 
Your own practice may contradict your precepts. When 
you call upon them to fulfil their duties they will expect 
you to set the example by a fulfilment of your own. 
They can discern consistency of conduct as well as 
other men, and particularly in cases which involve their 
own interest and happiness. If you do not labor and be 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 187 

at some sacrifice of time and means to improve their 
physical condition by providing more liberally and to the 
extent of your means for their comfort in good houses, 
good clothing and good food; if you do not regulate 
your discipline so as to maintain authority without injus- 
tice, and secure to every family and every individual just 
rights and privileges; in short, if you fail to impress 
your people with the belief that you are really their 
friend, and desire their best good for this world as well 
as for the next, and that you honestly intend to promote 
it, as far as lies in your power, they cannot, they will 
not value your instructions. They will view your efforts 
as hollow-hearted, purely selfish, intended for effect. You 
desire them to be Christians that you may have less 
trouble in their management, your work more honestly 
done, and your pecuniary interest more prospered. 
" Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou 
not thyself?" " First cast out the beam out of thine 
own eye." 

Or, your manner of instruction may be improper. 
You may look at them and speak to them, and pray for 
them in your meetings, with harshness and haughtiness. 
God resisteth the proud in religion, and so doth man. 
You may make them feel at an infinite remove from you 
and that there is no common ground in Christianity, 
upon which master and servant may happily meet. Or, 
falling into the other extreme, you may come to them 
with undue familiarity and affectation of regard — in 
simpering, canting tones and expressions — elevating 
them to an equality with yourself, not as a Christian, 
but as a master. As a consequence the dignity of your 
relation towards them perishes, and with it your respect 
and influence. Christianity is neither to be professed, 



188 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

nor taught, so as to break down the orders in society 
established in the providence of God, and distinctly 
recognized by it. 

You may lack regularity and perseverance in your 
instructions. 

Instruction to do much good, should be regular in its 
occurrence, and persevered in. Learn to be patient, and 
to moderate your expectations. 

Again, when I instruct my people they presume upon it ; 
and if I have occasion to correct one of them immediately 
he absents himself from meeting, and thus ends religious 
instruction with hhn. 

Admitting the objection to be true, as it often unques- 
tionably is, yet it presents no bar, but a difficulty, in the 
way of the discharge of duty ; a difficulty which must 
be encountered and overcome in the best manner possi- 
ble. You have to contend with the bad temper of chil- 
dren after correction sometimes, and so will you with 
that of servants. 

See to it, first of all, that your plantation or family 
discipline be just, then carry it into effect, in all neces- 
sary cases, with all authority, without fear or partiality, 
and ere long you will be borne out by the consciences 
of your people. They know, as well as you do, that a 
servant who knows his master's duty and will not do it 
must be made to do it; and that this is the doctrine both 
of religion and reason. A steady, just, and efficient 
discipline conduces to the happiness of both master and 
servant. Some of your people in the beginning of your 
efforts, through ignorance and viciousness, may presume 
upon your instructions ; but per.severe in them, and in 
ordmary and necessary discipline, annexing rewards 
to good conduct, and the result will be satisfactory. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 189 

There are owners whose experience accords with what 
we have now advanced. 

A minister of the Gospel says, I cannot preach io the 
Negroes ; I am not able to make myself understood ; I 
have no tuin for it. 

A sad confession, and an excuse never to be admitted. 
Your Divine Master, " preached the Gospel to the poor." 
— Matt. 11:5. He was not above noticing poor ser- 
vants, and visiting them in their sickness, and even 
performing miracles for their healing. — Matf.8: 5-13. 
His spirit was poured out upon them as well as upon 
others, and they were called into the glorious liberty of 
the Gospel and made "the Lord's freemen." — 1 Cor. 
7: 22. His Apostles were "forward to remember the 
poor:" spiritually and temporally. They preached the 
Gospel to servants, and many were born into the kingdom 
of God through their instrumentality. They baptized 
and received them into the churches along with their 
masters, and addressed commands to them in their letters 
to the churches. — Eph. 6: 5, Col. 2: 22. Yea, the 
great Apostle to the Gentiles, receives as a son the run- 
away, Onesimus, " begotten in his bonds," and kindly 
writes his master Philemon, a letter of intercession, and 
sends him back with it. — Epistle to Philemon. 

The Apostles make it the duly of their successors in the 
ministry to give religious instruction to servants, and to 
inculcate upon them the duties of their station. — 1 Tim. 
6: 1-5, "let as many servants as are under the yoke 
count their masters worthy of all honor," — " These 
things teach and exhort." And again in Titus 2:9- 10. 
Surely with these examples and precepts before him, that 
"workman" ^' needeth to be ashamed," who surrounded 
with servants in perishing need of the Gospel, cannot 



190 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

♦' rightly divide to them the word of truth." He shouM 
''study lo show himself approved unto God," in this 
department of his labor. Woe to him, if he fails to do 
so through sloth, or indifference to the worth of the 
soul, or through pride, feeling that one of his cultivation 
and improvement would injure his style of composition 
and manner of delivery, and would lower his respecta- 
bility in his own eyes and in the eyes of the world, by 
condescending to labor among Negro servants, and by 
adapting his preaching to their capacities! 

To pass by the sin, it is an absolute disgrace to a man 
"called of God as was Aaron," not to be able to make 
the Gospel intelligible lo all that hear him. To all those 
who make this excuse, we apply ti.e ancient adage, 
" where there is a will there is a way." 

Once more : the minister says, my church allows me no 
time to preach to the Negroes. I am loilling to do so, if 
I could. 

In the first place, have you requested time to do so, 
after presenting to your church the obligation of affording 
particular religious instruction to the Negroes connected 
with it? Yea, when met by lukewarmness, or it may be, 
by objections, have you upon your conscience, as a min- 
ister of the Gospel, insisted upon it? There is scarcely 
a church in the South which would not, upon a proper 
consideration of the duty, yield to the wishes of its 
minister in this respect. 

And again: when you accepted the call to the pastoral 
office, why did you not give the church to understand, 
distinctly, that you would devote a just proportion of 
your labors to the servants attached to the families of the 
congregation; that you would consider yourself the 
pastor of the servants as well as of the masters, parents 
and children ? 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 191 

Such an interest in the religious instruction of ser- 
Tants would be hailed with joy by many churches, and 
while it wouUl endear their ministers to them, it would 
give them increased confidence in their piety and a 
stronger hope of being benefited by their labors. 

Should it so happen that you are forbidden to preach 
lo the Negroes by the people over whom you are set;led, 
from no fault of your own, but from sheer opposition lo 
the work of religious instruction, your course undoubt- 
edly will be to reason the case, calmly, conscientiously, 
and decidedly, and wait patiently for a time, and when 
hope of change expires, withdraw to another field. The 
commission is, " go ye into all the world and preach the 
Gospel to every creature :" and no minister ought to be 
influenced, either by the fear or favor of men, to go 
contrary to that high command. It is set down among 
the aggravated offences of the Jews, and as filling up the 
measure of their sins, when wrath would come upon 
them to the uttermost, that they forbid the Apostles *' to 
speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved." — 1 
Thes.2: 14-16. But while these remarks are made, 
it becomes me to say as a matter of fact and of justice 
to the Southern churches, that I have never known nor 
heard of any such instance. Efforts for the religious 
instruction of the Negroes have been in some churches 
suspended for a season, on account of the excited state 
of public feeling, to be resumed when that excitement 
should pass away. 

W e have occupied sufficient space on these excusts. 
Excuses we have none. Do not let us make them ; but 
faithfully inquire if the reason of our neglect of duty, 
does not arise from ignorance on the one hand, or indis* 
position on the other? 



192 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 



CHAPTER 111. 



OBJECTIONS. 



The Objections to the religious instruction of the 
Negroes in the slave States, turn upon two grounds; — - 
the first, that religious instruction tends to the dissolution 
of the relations of society as now constituted ; and the 
second, ih&i it will really do the people no good, but lead 
10 insubordination. 

When it is remembered that these objections have 
united for their support, the interests, the passions, the 
prejudices, and the fears of the objectors, and I may add, 
a certain degree of ignorance and of opposition to reli- 
gion itself, it will be seen that they are very stron-g, and 
require to be met with perfect frankness and with sober 
reason. 

For myself, in urging the great duty of the religious 
instruction of the Negroes in the slave States,^ I have 
no concealments to make. My grand, exclusive object 
has ever been to put them in possession of that whicfe 
confers ^eace with God in time and blessedness with Mm 
in eternity. I do not, therefore, pursue religious in- 
struction as a means to an earthly end; so that while I 
^mprofessedly seeking to improve their spiritual condi- 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 193 

tion, I am actually laborinfr to effect changes iti their 
temporal condition. I have not so learned Christ. As 
an honorable man, as a minister of the Gospel, I utterly 
repudiate such a course of conduct. The preaching of 
the Gospel for the salvation of the souls of men is one 
thing ; the changes in their civil relations in this present 
life, effected by the influence of its spirit and its princi- 
ples, is another. H^Ue former is the office of the ministry 
— the latter, the office of Divine Providence. I am not 
ashamed of the Gospel in respect to the former; I am 
not afraid to trust God in respect to the latter. 

The first objection is this. If iDe suffer our Negroes 
to be instructed the tendency will he to change the civil 
relations of society as now constituted. 

To which let it be replied that we separate entirely 
their religious and their c«y<7 condition, and contend that 
the one may be attended to without interfering with the 
other. Our principle is that laid down by the holy and 
just One: "render imto Ccssar the things which are 
Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." And 
Ciirisl and his Apo-?llcs are our example. Did they 
deem it proper and consistent with the good order of 
society to preach the Gospel to servants? They did. 
In dischaige of tliis duty, did they interftn-e with their 
civil conililion ? They did not. They expressed no 
opinion whatever on the subject, if we except that which 
aopears in one of the Epistles to the Corinthian Church. 
{\st Epistle, c. 7: v. 19-23 ) There the Apostle Paul 
considers a state (jf freedom preferable to one of servi- 
tude, and advises slaves if they can lawfully obtain their 
freedom, to do it; but not otherwise. He does not treat 
the question as one of very great moment in comparison 
to the benefits of the Gospel, '• Art thou called being a 
17 



194 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

servant, care not for it, but if thou mayest be made free, 
use it rather ; for he that is called in the Lord being a 
servant is the Lord's freeman," etc. May we not follow 
in the footsteps of our Saviour and his Apostles, and 
that with perfect safety too ? Yea, and without pro- 
ceeding as far as did the Apostle Paul 1 We maintain 
that in judicious religious instruction there will be no 
necessary interference with their civil condition. The 
religious teacher must step out of his way for the 
purpose. 

The objection, it will be perceived, is levelled against 
the influence of the Gospel itself; and if the Gospel 
will subvert the institutions of our society then we should 
fear to be instructed in it ourselves, and banish it alto- 
gether. And who would entertain such a monstrous 
proposition? 

But the Gospel is to be preached " to every creature ;" 
the knowledge of the Lord is to fill the earth ; Almighty 
God has so promised, and he will make it good. We 
cannot, therefore, resist the progress of the Gospel. 
We can exclude its light no more than we can that of 
the sun. It is destined to, and will ultimately, reach 
every Negro in our land. And what influences its spirit 
and principles are in the providence of God to produce 
upon their condition shall be produced ; but the precise 
nature and extent of those influences it is impossible to 
determine. We may reason from one principle to an- 
other, and draw out conclusion after conclusion, into 
one grand result, and the concatenation of the whole, 
in our view, be perfect ; and yet the sovreignty of God 
like a disturbing force may enter in and preserve the 
present constitution of our society substantially the same. 
The subject is one of those " secret things " which 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 195 

belong to God alone. His providential dealings towards 
the nations of the earth are a great deep. They consti- 
tute the wonders of History, It is enough for every 
reasonable and every Christian man to know that the 
Gospel, like the sun, sheds down its influences upon 
mankind decidedly yet calmly, and that it causes all its 
fruits to spring forth and to mature in their season with- 
out noise, or violence, or injustice, if men will but allow 
to it its perfect way ; and that those influences will fill 
up the measure of the angelic song: " Glory to God in 
the highest and on eaith peace, good will towards men.'* 
— Luke 2: 14. 

If we are in a strait, in view of the objection, let us 
make the pious choice of David, " let us fall into the 
hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great ; " let us da 
what he so clearly defines to he present duty, then shall 
we cast ourselves and our servants into his hands, and 
confidently rely upon him to reveal to us what may be 
OUT future duty, and to guide us and our servants quietly 
and intelligently in the way that we should go. The 
path of present duty, on this as well as on all other 
subjects, is the path of safety. 

The second objection is — If we suffer our Negroea 
to he religiously instructed, the way will he opened for 
men from abroad to enter in and inculcate doctrines 
subversive of our interests and safety. 

In this objection the Gospel is not feared, but the 
agents by whom it is preached. Our views in reply, 
shall be briefly and we hope satisfactorily given. 

There are men, who, if the door of access to the 
Negroes in the South were thrown open indiscriminately 
to all, would enter in to send among us not " peace," 
but literally " a sword." Men who fall under the Apos- 



196 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES, 

tie's description in 1 Tim. 6 : 1-5, and from whom, in 
obedience to his command we would " withdraw our- 
selves." Against the introduction of ''such" there 
cannot be too much vigilance observed. 

The field of labor among the Negroes in the South, 
is one, in many respects, of no ordinary difliculty ; and 
it is the dictate as well of benevolence as of prudence 
to inquire into the character and qualifications of those 
who enter it. They should be Southern men ; men 
entitled to that apellation ; either those who have been 
born and reared in the South, or those who have identi- 
fied themselves with the South, and are familiarly 
acquainted with the structure of society ; in a word, men 
having tlieir interests in the South. Such men would 
possess the confidence of the community ; for they 
would not act in their official connection with the Ne- 
groes, in such a manner as to breed disturbances, which 
would inevitably jeopard their own lives and tend to the 
utter prostration of ihcir families and interests. They 
would also, from their experience and observation and 
knowledge, he competent and profitable instructers of 
the Negroes. 

But the very spirit which prompts the objection refutes 
it. For how is it possible when such a wary vigilance 
is manifested, for ministers or religious teachers, entire 
strangers in community, to come in, have access to the 
Negroes privately and publicly, and sow the seeds of 
discontent and revolt? It is impossible. They cannot 
come unless we permit them. 

Indeed, the most effectual method to preclude the 
introduction of improper teachers, is for us to take the 
religious instruction of our Negroes into our own 
hands f and to superintend it ourselves. We shall then 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 197 

know who their teachers are, and what and when and 
where they are taught. 

A third objection is — The religious instruction of 
the Ncgrves will lead to neglect of duty and insubor- 
dination. 

I ask how can it ? You reply : why the very attention 
you bestow upon them ; the very instructions you give 
them elevates them in their own consideiation, prompts 
them to assume an equality Avith their masters and 
teaches them, piactically at least, to neglect their woik 
and to resist discipline. You teach them that " God is 
no respecter of persons ; " that " he hath made of one 
blood all the nations of men ; " " thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself; " "all things whatsoever ye would 
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; " 
what use, let me ask, would they make of these sen- 
tences from the Gospel ? 

Let it be replied that the eflect urged in the objection 
might result from imperfect and injudicious religious 
instruction ; indeed religious instruction may be commu- 
nicated with the express design on the part of the 
instructer to produce the effect referred to, instances of 
which have occurred. But who will say that neglect of 
duty and insubordination are the legitimate effects of the 
Gospel purely and sincerely imparted to servants? Has 
it not in all ages been viewed as the greatest civilizer of 
the human race? As the most powerful of all causes 
in allaying the wild and stormy and rebellious tempers 
of the mind, and reducing men to habits of cheerful 
industry, domestic virtue, submission to authority and 
law, and peaceful intercourse in society ? He is but 
poorly read in the history of his race who knows not 
and who believes not this fact. I grant, and I do rejoice 
17* 



198 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

ia it, that religion is a great enlightener of the human 
mind, that it does tend to give an elevation to character, 
and dignity and importance to men ; and to afford a 
knowledge of, as w^ell as a protection to, their interests 
and rights in their connection one with another. But 
religion, at the same lime, teaches all men submission 
to the will of God expressed both in his Word and in 
his Providence ; and by its life giving spirit, influences 
them to fulfil the duties of their respective callings faith- 
fully and quietly. It is by our Lord compared to salt ; 
it preserves as well as purifies. 

The Gospel recognizes the condition in which the 
Negroes are, and inculcates the duties appropriate to it. 
Ministers are commanded by the Apostle Paul to " exhort 
servants to be obedient to their own masters and to please 
them well in all things; not answering again, not pur- 
loining ; but showing all good fidelity, that they may 
adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things ; 
for the grace of God, that biingeth salvation, hath ap- 
peared to all men ; teaching us that denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly righteously 
and godly in this present world." — Titus 2: 9-12. 
Again: "Let as many servants as are under the yoke 
count their masters worthy of all honor, that the name 
of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they 
that have believing masters let them not despise them, 
because they are brethren; but rather do them service, 
because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the 
benefit. These things teach and exhort." And the 
Apostle is very positive with ministers that they impress 
these duties upon servants, for in the next verse he adds, 
— "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to 
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 199 

Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godli- 
ness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about 
questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, 
strife railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of 
men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, suppos- 
ing that gain is godliness ; /ro/^z such withdraw thyself.''^ 
— 1 Tim.Q; 1-5. 

Writing to the church at Ephesus, he saith, " servants 
be obedient to them that are your masters according to 
the flesh with fear and trembling, in singleness of your 
heart, as unto Christ. Not with eye service as men- 
pleasers ; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of 
God from the heart, with good will doing service, as to 
the Lord and not to men ; knowing that whatsoever good 
thing any man doeth, (he same shall he receive of the 
Lord whether he be bond or free." — Eph. 6: 5-8. 
A similar passage occurs in his Epistle to the church at 
Collosse. ** Servants obey in all things your masters 
according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men- 
pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God; and 
whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not 
unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive 
the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord 
Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the 
wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of 
persons." — CoZ. 3: 23-25. 

The Apostle Peter is equally decided. " Servants be 
subject to your masters with all fear ; not only to the 
good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is 
thankworthy, if a man for conscience towards God 
endure grief, sufiering wrongfully. For what glory is 
it if when ye be buffeted for your faults ye shall take 
it patiently ? But if when ye do well and sufler for it, 



200 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For 
even hereunto were ye called ; because Christ also suf- 
fered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow 
his steps." — ! Pet. 2: 18-25. 

Such are the commands of the Gospel to servants, as 
comprehensive of their duties as any master could desire ; 
and all excuses for unfaithfulness and insubordination 
carefully guarded against. Yea, we hear the Apostle 
Paul exclaim, "let every man abide in the same calling 
wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? 
Care not for it ; but if thou mayest be free choose ii 
rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a ser- 
vant, is the Lord's freeman; likewise also, he that is 
called being free is Christ's servant. Ye are bought 
with a price, be not ye the servants of men. Brethren 
let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with 
God." — 1 Cor. 7: 20-24. And what do we seethe 
same Apostle do? He restores the "unprofitable" 
Onesimus to Philemon his master, though he had escaped 
from him to a great distance. Thus putting into prac- 
tice his own views and precepts. He calls the converted 
slave "a brother beloved," now to be specially regarded 
by Philemon, not only as a servant "in the flesh," but 
as a Christian servant " in the Lord." The Apostle 
Paul holds the most perfect fellowship with his master, 
as a truly christian man ; in whose household there was 
a company of believers — "a church" — for whom he 
prayed "always;" in whose "faith and love toward 
the Lord Jesus and toward all saints " he had " great 
joy and consolation." He calls him " brother" — " our 
dearly beloved and fellow-laborer." He felt no scruples 
in receiving and laboring with him in the Gospel. His 
letter to Philemon for its Christian courtesy, delicacy, 
and tenderness, is above all praise. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 201 

We now ask, will the duties of servants to their mas- 
ters be neglected, and their authority despised, Ly 
instructions of this sort, and by a careful adherence to 
the example of the Apostle Paul on the part of the 
ministers of the Gospel ? No never. Is not the discharge 
of duty made more sure and faithful, and respect for 
authority strengthened by considerations drawn from the 
omniscience of God and the retributions of eternity? 
The fact is not to be questioned. Joseph exclaimed, 
" how ran I do this great wickedness and sin against 
God?" And what was the reply of the Christian Negro 
when the ground of his obedience and fidelity to his 
master was inquired into? "Sir, //cor God, whose 
eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good ; 
therefore do I obey and am faithful as well behind my 
master's back as before his face." 

What parent considers the religious instruction of his 
children, as liaving a tendency to make them more 
wicked and rebellious? Should neglect of duty and 
insubordination ensue upon the religious instruction of 
servants, the fault will be discovered in imperfect instruc- 
tion, or in the mismanagement of the master. 

A fourth objection. The Negroes will embrace 
seasouf! of religious worship, for originating- and 
executing plans of insubordination and villany. 

Th'.s might be the case if they were allowed to con- 
gregate on plantations at night, and at places of worship 
on tlie Sabbath without a proper regulation of their 
assemblies, or any supervision of a responsible white 
teacher, or of planters themselves. And for the reason 
that masses of men, especially of ignorant and vicious 
men, coming together under little or no restraint, natu- 
rally, yea, inevitably, fall into excesses and riots. But 



202 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

a proper regulation of the times and places of meeting, 
and the faithful supervision of religious teachers, assisted 
by deacons and elders, or planters, would preclude all 
serious disorders. An experience of some eight years, 
confirms me in the opinion. For in five or six hundred 
meetings upon plantations during the week, and at 
stations for preaching on the Sabbath, with congregations 
varying from twenty to five hundred and more, I have 
never been disturbed during a single meeting v/ith any 
noise or riot, and not more than three times have I had 
occasion, after services, to interfere in checking disor- 
derly conduct ; and in the instances referred to, they 
were private quarrels, the parties meeting and in a 
moment of passion, assaulting each other. As it so 
happened, in each instance, I was alone amidst hundreds 
of them, and a single command quelled the disturbance 
instantly. "Wherever religious meetings have been em- 
braced for purposes specified in the objection, on inquiry 
it will be found that the people were left to themselves 
and so fell into temptation. 

But why are men so tenacious of religious meetings 
and of religious teachers, as though the Negroes had 
no other kind of meetings and no other kind of teachers? 
Are they not privileged to assemble for feasting and 
merriment? Do they not have their balls and parties of 
pleasure, in town and country? Are they not collected 
for miles around to Imskings and other kinds of job- 
labor, where they drink and sing and revel like baccha- 
nals? What troops of them walk our streets in idle 
search for labor ? or sit in market places all daylong? 
Are there not portions of all our chief towns inhabited 
chiefly by them, with the most perfect communication 
from house to house at all hours, and to whom men of 



OBLIGATIONS OP THE CHURCH. 203 

Various characters and designs may find an introduction! 
Do they not rendezvous at low tippling shops, on terms 
of companionship with their vicious keepers; some of 
which are complete Negro exchanges, where all that 
transpires in the social, the religious, the civil, and the 
political world, is regularly made known and sagely 
discussed ? " Judge not according to the appearance 
but judge righteous judgement." — John 7: 34. 

A fifth objection is religious instruction will do no 
good; it will only make the Negroes worse men and 
worse hypocrites? 

It will be unnecessary to dwell upon this objection, 
since it has been answered by much that has already 
been advanced ; and because those who urge it, do not 
(as charity bids us conclude,) really believe in its truth ; 
unless indeed, they be avowed and malicious infidels ; 
and we have reason to be thankful there are very iew 
such amongst us. 

Who are we? In what age and in what country of 
the world do we live that we should question the excel- 
lency of the Gospel, the propriety of preaching it " to the 
poor; " What is the Gospel? Is it not, " the grace of 
God that bringeth salvation ; teaching us that denying 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously and godly in this present world; looking 
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the 
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave 
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity 
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works?"— Titus 2: 11-14. This is the Gospel. 
These are the things which we are to teach and exhort. 
And is it under such teaching and exhortation that men 
will increase in crime and hypocrisy? Why should the 



204 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Gospel produce an effect on Negroes, contrary io that 
which it is designed to produce, and which it actually pro- 
duces on all other men, and on some whose condition is 
worse than theirs ? Who may limit the power of the 
Holy Ghost the Third Person of the adorable Trinity ? 
Is any tiling too hard for Him, in the regeneration and 
sanclification of men? The immortal mind may be 
darkened and polluted with ignorance and j-in, yea, sunk 
to the lowest depths; — Ijut the immortal mii.d is there, 
and that precious jewel, by the omnipotent and gracious 
energies of the Holy Ghost, through the word of God, 
may be regerjerated, cleansed of its defilements, filled 
with light and purity and fitted for the highest and most 
honorable uses both in this world and in that which is 
to come. 

The objection is not supported by a solitary fact. 
Wherever Negroes have really enjoyed, for any reasona- 
ble time, the privileges of the Gospel, in point of general 
intelligence, morality and order, they are in advance of 
those who have not enjoyed them. Is it not conceded 
that a truly pious servant gives less trouble and is more 
profitable than one who is not 1 Is there one master in 
a thousand who does not desire euch servants? Is it 
not true, that tiie most pious servants exert the happiest 
influence in promoting honesty and good order on plan- 
tations and in communities? 

That there is a large number of nominal christians 
amonff tlie Negroes, I do not deny. But why is it so? 
Are they made hypocrites by faithful instruction? No. 
The abounding of spurious religion, results from a defi- 
ciency of faithful instruction ; and a too hasty admission 
into the church after a profession of conversion, and 
pretty much an entire neglect of their further instruo- 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 205 

lion after being adnjilted. A reformation on our part 
in regard to these paiticulars, would produce a happy- 
effect upon the purity and permanency of their religious 
character. Nominal Chiistianity abounds most in 
chuichcs where the instruction and discipline are most 
imperfect and weak, and from which the influence of 
competent white inslructers is most withdrawn. 

But one or two irregularities in their meetings, one or 
two defections from profession, are sufl^cient to preju- 
dice the minds of many against the religious instruction 
of the Negroes. Because they remain impenitent and 
pervert the Gospel and deceive their fellow men, there- 
fore are they unworthy of it? Who then would be 
worthy, if God should deal with men according to this 
rule ? Where is there a church on eartii in which all the 
members are pure? What did the Apostle say of some 
of the members of the churches at Corinth and at 
Philippi ; and of the churches in Galatia ? Did not our 
Lord himself say that when the householder sowed wheat 
his enemy sowed tares; that the net cast into the sea 
gathered of every kind, both bad and good? 

Admit the objection to be true, in its fullest extent, 
and what then ? Does it annul our duty? Far from if. 
Let them harden themselves and grow worse under the 
means of grace; whether they will htar or forbear, we 
are to do our duty; ue are to obey God; we are to 
throw tlie responsibility of their salvation ujion their 
own shoulders, and clear our garments of their blood. 

The objeclidns now considered, we do not drcm of 
sufficient weight to alter the conchii,ion to M'hich we 
have already come, that it is our duty to impart sound 
religious instruction to our colored population in the 
slave States. 
18 



S06 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 



CHAPTER IV. 

BENEFITS. 

Let us proceed to the more agreeable employment 
t)i showing the Benefits, v.'hicli would flow from the 
teligious instruction of the Negroes. 

There would he a better understanding- of the relation 
of master and servant : and of their reciprocal duties. 

Not much has been published in our country on the 
relation and duties of master and servant. And it 
seems strange that it should be so, and since that relation 
has existed so long and become so extensive; since so 
much involving private and public happiness, depends 
upon the faithful discharge of the duties of it. Not 
muchinquiry and discussion, in the way of co7iversation 
has been indulged in, on the general subject; and not 
much preaching- upon it from the pulpit. 

There are many of our owners who have never given 
themselves the trouble, with the Scriptures in their 
hands for a guide, solemnly and prayerfully to inquire 
into the number and nature of those duties which they 
owe to their servants and are in reason and in conscience 
bound to perform. Nor do wc think that there are many 
servants who have been instructed and understand theij 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. SOlT 

duties towards their masters and from what motives they 
should discharge them. What is the consequence? 
Why, ignorance and indifference exist both on the one 
part and on the other. Too much is left to custom, to 
chance, to interest and convenience, to impulses. The 
principle which regulates the relation and iis duties, I 
have heard defined thus: on the part of f/ze mastery 
" get all, and gice back as little as you can ; " and on 
the part of the servant, " give as little, and get hack all 
you can." And what is the principle thus defined? 
Pure selfishness ! Considering what human nature is 
and observing the conduct of masters and servants, we 
have ground to fear that there is too much truth in tlie 
existence and influence of this principle. But we con- 
stantly see the severity of it mitigated, even by itself, 
lest it should over-shoot its own ends, and especially by 
feelings of attachment and benevolence that spring up 
between superiors and inferiors. 

Inhere is something, however, above all this, that is 
needed, and that something is the introduction of reli- 
gion. Religion will tell the master that he is a master 
"according to the flesh," only; that his servants are 
fellow-creatures, and he has a master in heaven to whom 
he shall finally account for his treatment of them. 
Religion will tell the servant "to be obedient to masters 
according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in single- 
ness of heart as unto Christ; knowing that whatsoever 
good thing any man doelh, the same shall he receive of 
the Lord whether he be bond or free." The master will 
be led to inquiries of this sort. In what kind of houses 
do I permit them to live ; what clothes do I give them 
to wear; what food to eat; M'hat privileges to enjoy ? 
In what temper and manner, and in what proportion to 



208 RELIGIO-US INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

their crimes do I allow them to be punished? "What 
care do I take of their family relations? What am I 
doing for their souls' salvation? In fine, what does God 
require me to do to, and for them and their children, in 
view of their happiness here and hereafter ? Light wilJ 
insensibly break into his mind. Conscience will be 
quickened, and before he is aware perhaps, his servants 
will be greatly elevated in his regards, and he will feel 
himself bound and willing to do more and more for 
them. The government of his plantatioa will not be so 
purely selfish as forn)«rly. His interest will not be the 
sole object of pursuit, nor oflences against that visited 
Avilh sorer punishment than offences against God himself. 
He will have an eye to the comfort, the interest of his 
people, and endeavor to identify their interest with his, 
and also to make them see and feel it to be so. It will 
be a deli::ht to him to see them enjoy the blessings of 
the providence and the grace of God. 

Such an attempt at a discharge of duty on religious 
grounds, will produce favora'i!e influences, upon the 
feelings and conduct of servanis. Religion will cause 
them to understand tlieir duties better, an-d to perform 
them more perfectly and' cheerfully. 

The pecuniary interests of masters vnll b& advanced 
as a vecesary consequence. 

I do not mean tliat the introduction of the Gospel upon 
a plantation in and of itself puts new life and vigor into 
the laborers and the soil which they cultivate, and neces- 
sarily makes them more profitable to owners, than 
plantations where the Gospel is not introduced at all. 
By no means. Such a statement would be unfounded 
in fact. For there are owners who lake no pains what- 
t§ver to have thetr Negroes instructed ; but who feed and 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 209 

clothe and lodge them well, and are hnmane and take 
the best care of them, and by careful, skilful and push- 
ing management, go far beyond their religious neigh- 
bors in their incomes. But I mean, that religious 
instruction is no detriment, but rather a benefit : that,, 
other tilings being equal, the plantation which enjoys 
religious instruction will do better for the interests of 
its owner, than it did before it enjoyed such instruction. 
Virtue is more profitible than vice; while this is allowed 
to be no discovery, no man will question its truh. 

Increased attention to the temporal comfort of servants 
would improve their health; and the expense of lost 
labor by sickness, and of physicians' bills would be saved. 
Their wants being more liberally supplied and sharing 
more largely in the fruit of their labors, many tempta- 
tions to theft, to which they are exposed, would be 
removed ; and they would become more industrious 
amlsaving: C/^'me would be diminished. For teachers 
in order to reformation, would charge upon the Negroes 
the sins to which they are most addicted and expose 
their enormity and consequent punishment in the world 
to come. They are sometimes found guilty of notorious 
sins and scarcely know that they are sins at all. Reli- 
gious instruction would lead them to respect each other 
more, to pay greater regard to mutual character and 
rights ; the strong would not so much oppress the weak ; 
family relations would be less liable to rupture; in 
short, all the social virtues would be moie honored and 
cultivated. Their work would be raore faithfully done ; 
their obedience more universal and more cheerfully ren- 
dered. The genuine effects of religion upon them would 
be, " with good will doing service, as to the Lord and 
not unto men." 
17* 



21& RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

And who can tell the pleasurable feelings of a humane 
and Christian master, in view of a moral leformalion of 
his servants? He will thank God that he is, if not 
wholly, yet measurably relieved from perpetual watching, 
from fault-finding and threatening and heart-sickening 
severity ; and that he can begin at least to govern some- 
what by the law of love. The good character of his 
people render them more valuable as property; and 
even should lie not make as much as formerly, the loss 
is more than balanced by what he sees his people enjoy 
and by the comfort and satisfaction which he possesses 
himself. 

The religious instruction of the Negroes will contri^ 
huie to safety. 

"The thing that hath been it is that which may be ;" 
and althnugli, as a slave-holding country, we are so 
situated, that, so far as man can see,, the hope of success 
on the part of our laboring class, in any attempt at rev- 
olution is forlorn, yet no enemy (if there be an enemy) 
should be despised, however weak, and no danger 
unprovided for, however apparently remote. Success 
may not indeed crown an)- attempt, but much suffering 
may be the consequence both on the one part and on 
the other. It is then but a prudent foresight, a dictate 
of benevolence and of wisdom, to originate and set in 
ojieration means that may act as a check upon, if nol 
a pcifect preventive of evil. 

I am a firm believer in theefficacy o^ sound religious 
instrvction, as a means to the end desired. And reasons 
may be given for that belief. They are to be discovered 
in the very nature and tendency of the Gospel. Its 
nature is peace, in the broadest and fullest extent of the 
word. Its tendency, even when its transforming influ« 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHUUCH. 211 

ence upon character is vot realized, is to soften down 
and curb the passions of man ; to make him more 
respectful of another's interests,and more solicitous of his 
favor; more obedient under authority, and patient under 
injuries; and to enhance infinitely in his estimation the 
value of human life. His conscience is enlightened and 
his soul is awed. He knows God reigns to execute 
judgment, and it will require greater effort to excite hira 
to unhnliovved deeds. But when character is transformed 
by the Gospel, its nature and tendency are perfected. 
The servant recognizes a superintending Providence, who 
disposes of men and things according to his pleasure; 
that his Gospel cf)mes not with reckless efforts to wrencii 
apart society and break governments into pieces, but to 
define clearly the relations and duties of men, and to lay 
down and render authoritative, those general principles 
of moral conduct which will result in the happiness of 
the whole, and in the peaceable removal of every kind 
of evil and injustice. — To God, therefore, be commits 
the ordering of his lot, and in his station renders to all 
their dues, obedience to whom obedience, and honor to 
whom honor. He dares not wrest from the hand of God 
his own care and protection. While he sees a preference 
in the various conditions of men he remembers the 
words of the Apostle : — "Art thou called being a ser- 
vant? Care not for it; but if thou mayest be free, use 
it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a 
servant, is the Lord's freeman : likewise, also, he that is 
called being free, is Christ's servant. Ye are bought 
with a price, be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, 
let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with 
God." 



213 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

Besides the general and special influences of the Gospel 
now adverted to, safety will be connected with the very 
dispensation of it, in two particulars, which 1 would not 
omit to mention. 'V he first is: — The very effort of 
masters to instruct their people, creates a strong bond of 
union and draws out their kindly feelings to their masters: 
kindness produces kindness : love begets its own likeness. 
The presence also of white instructers, settled ministers 
or missionaries, in their private as well as public religious 
assemblies and free intercourse with the people and with 
their influential men and leaders, exert a restraining 
influence upon any spirit of insubordination that may 
exist, and at the same time give opportunities for its 
detection. The Negroes are as capable of strong per- 
sonal attachments to their religious instructers as are any 
other people; and of their own will are inclined to make 
confidential communications. 

The second particular is, that the Gospel being dis- 
pensed in its purity, the Negroes will be disabused of 
their ignorance and superstition, and thus be placed 
beyond the reach of designing men. The direct way of 
exposing them to acts of insubordination is to leave 
them in ignorance and superstition, to the care of their 
own religion. Tlien may the blind lead the blind, and 
both shall fall into the ditch : then may they be made the 
easy and willing instruments of avarice, of lust, of power 
or of revenge. Ignorance — religioiis ignorance — so 
far from being any safety, is the very marrow of our sin 
against this people, and the very rock of our danger. 
Religion and religious teachers they must and will have, 
and if they are not furnished with the true they will em- 
brace the false. And what, I would add, is the language 
oi facts on the point und«r f»''r r?'>?»^«, 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 213 

In the conspiracy in the city of New York in 1712, 
Mr. Neau's school for the religious instruction of the 
Negroes was blamed as the main occasion of the barba- 
rous plot. And yet, " upon full trial the guilty Negroes 
were found to be such as never came to 31r. Neau's school, 
and what is very observable, the persons whose Negroes 
were found most guilty, were such as mere the declared 
opposers oj making them. Christians I " 

The rebellions in 1739 and the three'm 1739, in South 
Carolina, were fo?ncntcd by the Spaniards in St. Augus- 
tine, and religion had nothing to do with them. The 
ground of that ir> 1741 in New York cily again, I do 
not precisely understand; but it is pretty well ascertained 
that it was not religion. It is questioned whether the 
whites were not wholly deluded. There is evidence to 
believe that there was no plot at all on the part of the 
Negroes, although they suflTered terribly. 

Of that of ISIG, in Camden South Carolina, discovered 
and suppressed, ]\lr. F. G. Deliesseline writes: "Two 
brothers engaged in this rebellion could read and write, 
and were hitherto of unexceptionable characters. They 
were religious, and had always been regarded in the light 
of faithful servants. A few appeared to have been actu- 
ated by the instinct of the most brutal licentiousness, 
and by the lust of plunder ; but most of them by wild 
and frantic ideas of the rights of man, and the miscon- 
ceived injunctions and examples of Holy Writ ! " — E. 
C. Holland's Refutation , etc. p. 76. 

Of that of 1822, in Charleston South Carolina, Mr. 
Benjamin Elliott writes : "This description of our popu- 
lation had been allowed to assemble for religious instruc- 
tion. The designing leaders in the scheme of villainy 
availed themselves of these occasions to instil sentiments 



214 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

of ferocity hy falsifying the Bible ! " Then he pro- 
ceeds to show how it was done and adds, "such was 
their religion — such the examples to be imitated." 
Further on Mr. Elliott remarks, — "Another impedi- 
ment to the progress of conspiracy, will ever be the 
fidelity of some of our Negroes. The servant who is 
false to his master would be false to his God. One act 
of perfidy is but the first step in the road of corruption 
and of baseness; and those who on this occasion have 
proved ungrateful to their owners, have also been hypo- 
crites in religion ! " — Same jjamphlet, pp. 79, SO. Re- 
ferring to the same affair of 1822, Mr. C. C. Pinckney 
remarks — "On investigation it appeared that all con- 
cerned in that transaction, except one, had seceded 
from the regular Methodist Church in 1817 and formed 
a separate establishment, in connection with the African 
Methodist Society in Philadelphia ; whose bishop, a col- 
ored man, named Allen, had assumed that office, being 
himself a seceder from the Methodist Church of Penn- 
sylvania. At this period Mr. S. Bryan, the local minister 
of the regular Methodist Church in Charleston, was 
so apprehensive of sinister designs, that he addressed a 
letter to the city council, on file in the council chamber, 
dated 8th November, 1817, stating at length the reasons 
of his suspicion." — Address, Note B. p. 20. 

The South Hampton affair, in Virginia, in 1832, was 
originated by a man under color of religion, a pretender 
to inspiration. As far back as 1825 the Rev. Dr. J. H. 
Rice, in a discourse on the injury done to religion hy 
ignorant teachers, warned the people of Virginia against 
the neglect of the proper religious instruction of the 
Negroes, and the danger of leaving them to the control 
of their own ignorant, fanatical and designing preachers. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 215 

His prophecy had its fulfilment in South Hampton. If 
we refer to the West Indies we shall behold religion 
exerting a restraining influence upon the people; and 
particularly on one occasion all the Negroes attached to 
the Moravian Missionary Churches, to a man supported 
the authority of their masters against the insurgents. 

Enough has been said to satisfy reasonable and Chris- 
tian men that sound religious instruction will contribute 
to safety. There are men who have no knowledge of 
religion in their own personal experience, and who have 
not been careful to notice its genuine effects upon ser- 
vants, and they will place little or no confidence in any 
thing that might be said in favor of it. They can place 
more reliance upon visible preventives of their own inven- 
tion than upon principles of moral conduct wrought in 
the soul and maintained in supremacy by Divine Power, 
whose nature they do not understand, and whose influ- 
ence, however good, is invisible, and for that very reason 
not to be trusted by them. Nor have they either the 
candor or willingness, to make a distinction between 
ffdse and ti'uc religion. In their opinion the Gospel is 
no benefit to the world. Such men we are constrained 
to leave to the influence of time and observation, and 
invoke for them tlie influence of the Spirit of God. I 
shall never forget the reniark of a venerable colored 
preacher, made with reference to the South Hampton 
tragedy. With his eyes filled with tears, and his whole 
manner indicating the deejjest emotion, said he, " Sir, it 
is the Gospel that we, ignorant and wicked people need. 
If you will give us the Gospel it will do more for the 
obedience of servants and the peace of community than 
all your guards, and guns, and bayonets." This same 
Christian minister, on receiving a packet of inflammatory 



216 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

pamphlets through the Post-office, and discovering their 
character and intention, immediately called upon the 
Mayor of the City and delivered them into his hands. 
"Who can estimate the value in community of one such 
man acting under the influence of the Gospel of peace ? 
The religious instruction of the Negroes \vi]\ promote 
our own mnraUly and religion. 

That the Negroes arc intellectually and morally, in a 
degraded state, I trust will not be denied ; and of course 
no man acquainted with human nature, will deny that 
constant connection and intercourse with a degraded 
people, will exert a deleterious influence upon persons 
of more elevated character, if there be not some pecu- 
liar causes in existence, or some special eflbrt made, to 
counteract it. I do not hesitate to say that the influence 
of the Negroes on the general intelligence and morality 
of the whites is not good. There are those who deny 
it. I difler with them, and am happy in believing that 
the majarily of my fellow citizens are with me. We 
are so accustomed to sin in the Negroes (which in them 
appears a matter of course,) that our sensibilities are 
blunted. 

"When we cease to " abhor that which is evil," we shall 
not long "cleave to that wl^ich is good." "First endure 
— then embrace;" is as true in sober prose as in 
flippant j)0cLry. Planters will generally confess that 
the management of Negroes is not onhj attended 
with tro^ublc and vexation from time to lime, but with 
provocations to sin. Masters and mistresses of fami- 
lies have their trials. And (lie kind of influence which 
Negroes exert over our children and youth, when per- 
mitted to associate with them, is well known to all 
careful and obseiving parents. 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 217 

Now we shall defend ourselves from the injuries to 
our moral and religious character, received through our 
colored population, by their religious instruction, at 
least in very large measure. And on the principle or 
promise of the word of God, " he that waters shall be 
watered also himself" God bestows his blessing imme- 
diatcly upon those who do their duty. There is also a 
rebound for good, in benevolent action. The effort to do 
good, strengthens the principle from which it proceeds. 
The way to strengthen and increase holiness in the soul 
is to abound in works of holiness. It is by giving our 
talents to the exchangers that we gain other talents. 

By taking in hand the religious instruction of the 
Negroes, an ample field will be opened for the most vig- 
orous exercise of the piety and zeal and talents of the 
church; a great proportion of which is now rusting for 
want of use. And when it pleas-es God to give success 
to our labors, and we see them assuming a higher stand- 
ard of morals; the current of their opinions turning 
against ignorance and vice, their appearance and deport- 
ment becoming more re.«pectable, we shall be favorably 
affected ourselves. As the one class rises so will the 
other; the two are so intimately associated they are apt 
to rise or fall together; to benefit servants, evangelize 
the masters ; to benefit masters, evangelize the servants. 

Much unpleasant discipline will be saved to the 
churches. 

The offences of colored communicants against Chris- 
tian character and church order are numerous, and 
frequently heinous; the discipline of delinquents is 
wearisome, difBcult, and unpleasant. Excomnnitjications 
are of frequent occurence : and are usually followed, a 
short time after, by applications for re-admission. There 
19 



218 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

will never be a better slate of things, until the Negroes 
are better instructed in religion, both befure and after 
(heir reception into the church. 

The souls of our servants will he saved. 

This is the crowning benefit; the grand and final aim 
of religious instruction. Where is the church in our 
land that would refutse to have its number of elect ones 
increased by the addition of these souls ready to perish? 
Where is the minister who would refuse to have them 
for the crown of his rejoicing "in that day?" Where 
is the master who would keep the cup of salvation from 
the lips of his own servants? 

From the success wiiich has attended the preaching of 
the Gospel in its purity to the Negroes, we infer tliat the 
"set time" to favor them has come; and that the Lord 
will succeed our faithful endeavors with the converting 
and sanctifying influences of his Holy Spirit. And 
when we remember their multitudes — the hundreds and 
thousands of immortal souls that are pas.sing into an 
eternity for which they are unprepared; and when we 
ren\ember their condition and circumstances in this 
world, and how much they stand in need of the .supports 
and consolations of religion, who that has a heart to 
feel can hesitate to forward the work of their religious 
instruction? " All souls are mine," saith the Lord, and 
his glory is promoted as well in the salvation of the soul 
of an African as in that of any other man of any other 
country. 

Without proceeding further, such are the benefits 
which we should realize in the slave-holding States by 
the faithful and general religious instruction of the 
Neffroes. 



OULIOATIONS OF THE CHURCH. 219 

I can conceive of no ground whatever upon which to 
found an objection to tlieir religious instruction in the 
free States; doubtless excuses may sometimes be made, 
but as they must arise generally from corrupt sources 
and be of limited prevalence, I shall pass them by. The 
benefits arising from their religious instruction have been 
in some locations so manifest, and must be so obvious to 
all, more especially indeed to those who have made the 
character and condition of the Negroes in the free 
States a matter of serious reflection, that I shall in like 
manner omit any notice of them. 

I have now completed this Part of our subject. The 
obligations of the church of Christ in the United States 
to impart the Gospel to the Negroes I trust have been 
demonstrated ; the txcvses and objections to a discharge 
of those obligations stated and obviated; and \\iQbenffits 
briedy yet sufScienily exhibited. 



PART IV. 

Means and Plans for promoting and securing the 
Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United 
States. 



CHAPTER 1. 

The Church of Christ must be made familiar with the duty and 
moved to its performance. 

There is much ignorance, much indifference — indeed, 
much apathy in the churches on the subject of the 
religious instruction of the Negroes This people have 
never been brought up, as it were in a body, and pre- 
sented to the churches, as a people demanding their 
prayers and efforts for their salvation. We need an all- 
pervading light and feeling in the churches on the sub- 
ject. The work must begin in the Jiouse of God. Our 
first effort therefore must be to bring the spiritual condi- 
tion and prospects of the Negroes in the United States 
and our duties toward them, before the minds of Chris- 
tians. They will then discover what is to be done, and 
inquire how shall it he done ? 

I would in this place state distinctly that I see no 
necessity for the formation of associations or societies 
on an extensive scale embracing States, or even the 
whole United States, with central boards, appointing 
agents for the collection of funds and forming auxiliaries, 
employing and appointing ministers and missionaries, 
disbursing monies, in a word assuming the entire control 
19* 



233 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

of the great work. On the contrary I think I see some 
very strong objections to such a course, especially in the 
Southern Slates. It is unnecessary to offer these objec- 
tions to the reader. The impracticahility of forming 
such associations and conducting them with success, set- 
tles the question. 

There are no objections to local associations, or 
societies : formed by the people interested, on the 
ground itself which they propose to occupy. Such 
associations, (the one in Liberty Country Georgia is an 
example,) have done and may do great good, and are 
always under control of their own members and officers. 

I conceive that the churches in their respective 
organized forms are competent to undertake, and to 
prosecute the work to complete success. They are 
associations for doing good within themselves. Each 
denomination has its regular and constitutional organi- 
zation, and can avail itself of that organization to execute 
its plans of benevolence. If a denomination chooses to 
appoint committees or boards and agents under pre- 
scribed regulations " over this business," there can be 
no objection ; it is this particular branch of the church 
acting in its organized capacity still. 

The various denomiinations in the Southern States, so 
far as they have taken action on the religious instruc- 
tion of the Negroes, have done so within themselves^ 
thei-eby intimating their competency to the work, and 
expressing the opinion that no other organizations are 
necessary. 

The first movement, dictlaed by wisdom, should be 
to bring the duty before the bishops, elders, and deacons, 
of all llie various denominations of Christians, and 
through their instrumentality before church members 
and communities. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 223 

I would respectfully suggest the following as means 
to this desirable end which have in certain instances 
been used with success. 

Let bishops, elders, and deacons, who have both 
knowledge and interest on the subject, introduce it into 
their respective church judicatories for consideration 
and action. Consideration will produce conviction and 
conviction action. 

To illustrate ihe matter. At a meeting of a pre.sSy- 
tery a member introduces the religious instruction of 
the Negroes, in a sermon or resolution, nr in a report 
on the state of religion within a particular church or 
within the bounds of the body. The presbytery enter- 
tains the subject ; it elicits remark; it grows in impor- 
tance; the members feel that something must be done. 
Thus introduced it is suggested that they seek for more 
information, and it is moved that the subject be commit- 
ted, or some branch of it, to different members to 
prepare reports, essays, or sermons, or dissertations, 
that presbytery may know more definitely ihe nature 
and extent of it. 

The subject is then divided and members are appointed 
to prepare on such branches of it as we now mention : 
" A statistical report of the number of Negroes within 
the bounds of presbytery ; the number statedly attending 
public worship on the Sabbath day ; and the number of 
members in the several churches under the care of 
presbytery." " Their moral and religious condition; 
and access to the means of graced " What is done 
for their religious instruction, — by ministers — by 
churches — by owners?" "What kind o( instruction 
is needed; and the best mode of imparting it ?" "Do 
servants form an integral part of a bishop^s charge; 



224 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

and what ought he to do for them?" ^^ The obliga- 
tions of churches and of owners to impart the Gospel to 
the Negroes." " The necessity of Sabbath schools 
and the best plan for conducting them." 

Other branches of the subject will suggest themselves. 
I need not enlarge. These e»ays and reports, coming 
in from meeting to meeting will keep the subject before 
the presbytery, until a conscience is formed, enlightened 
and active, and then a regular system of efforts will be 
made from year to year, and tlie Negroes become the 
permanent obects of Christian regard. 

The presbytery will require its members to devote a 
part of the Sabbath or some portion of the week to 
their instruction ; to bring the duty before the church 
sessions and congregations and endeavor to establish 
Sabbath schools for colored children and youth; and to 
report the number of members, extent and nature of 
efforts, and the success of them at every regular meeting 
of the body. 

Thus the interest awakened in presbytery goes down 
to the church sessions and congregations within its 
bounds, and the whole community is acted upon. And 
again, through its reports to synod, the subject is intro- 
duced there, and being remarked, it is urged upon the 
attention of synod, and the members are impressed, 
(who form many presbyteries, covering a wide extent of 
country,) and through the action of synod thousands are 
affected. Upward the influence goes to the General 
Assembly, and from thence it is caused to flow down 
again over the length and breadth of the denomination, 
besides attracting the attention of sister denominations 
and enlisting them also in the work. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 225 

Substantially the same action may pervade the 
Baptist, Methodist, and Episcopal denominations, and 
with equal results. 

Another means of awakening churches will be to 
publish essays, reports, sermons, and tracts on the 
subject, and give them% circulation as universal as pos- 
sible. They will be like the seed which " the sower 
went forth to sow;" much of it will fall upon good 
ground all over the country and effects both great and 
small will be the fruit. 

And still another means, should it be practicable as 
well as advisable the particular denomination taking 
the work in hand, laay establish a committee or society 
to superintend it, having some responsible individual 
engaged to visit the churches and to assist in establishing 
Sabbath schools, and to collect funds for the support of 
missionaries of approved character in places where 
they may be needed, and circulate information on the 
best plans for conducting the religious instruction of the 
Negroes. 

By some such means as these the churches must be 
made familiar with the duty and moved to its performance. 



226 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 



CHAPTER II. 



The ways and means of imparting religious instruction to th» 
Negroes. 

Our object should be to communicate the Gospel 
which bringeth salvation, to the entire Negro popula- 
tion of the United States, embracing the old and the 
young, the bond and free. The Gosp 1 should be com- 
municated statedly, '-it regularly appointed seasons; and 
these seasons occuring na frequently as possible, at least 
once a week ; and in an intelligible manner, " for if the 
trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare him- 
self for the battle ? " 

The Gospel should be communicated in its fulness^ 
and every necesssary m a ust d to that end ; such as 
Sabbath scko ■ i ■■ children and youth, in Avhich adults 
also may be included. Preaching to entire congrega- 
tions on the Sabbath ; u I'l n> plantations during the 
week ; and where it is possible, holding a weekly lecture. 
Visiting the sick; attending funerals; performing 
marriage ceremonies ; maintaining strict discipline in 
churches; appointing wafcAme/j as assistants to conduct 
plantation prayers, and watch over the people and 
report cases of delinquency; and providing in the 
churches committees of instruction from among the 



MEANS AND PLAXS. 227 

white members to attend to all persons applying for 
admission, that ihey be not received without due exami- 
nation arul instruction ; and finally, by plantation 
iwstruclioii. 

But who shall rommunicate the Gospel in this manner 
to the Megroes? The question admits of an easy answer. 
"We ]ooky first, to he I is/tops of churches. 

Iwihe rti'i St. itcs, il' ihe Negroes have no distinct 
church organization of their own, and are dependent 
upon the whiles, the ministers under whose influence 
they fall should make every suitable effort to improve 
their moral atui religious condition. T len is no lie of 
early association and of sympathy, nor of interest, 
exislintj between the whites and the Negroes of the free 
States; ilie prejudice a gainst color is very strong; the stan- 
ding in society — i.lu' eharaclei usid pecuniary resources 
of the Negroes, have no attractions ; and many ministers 
find it diflicult to get their leelings interested, or to 
make advances towards them. And what makes the 
matter worse, is, that frequently tin- Negroes are inde- 
pendent in their degradation and spiritual necessities, 
and look upon the efl'orts of ilie whites in llie light of a 
presumplucus irilerferenre with them and their own 
concerns. In some of the chii^f towns iliere is a wide 
field for benevolent ellurt among this people, and much 
niore ought to be done for them than is done. 

In the 5/ai-e States, the rhuirhes and congregations 
are universally composed of Negroes and whites — of 
bond and free; and ministeis who are settled over the 
churches, are or ought to be, settled over both classes. 
Servants aie as much a pait (»f their charge as are 
children. The churches are composed nf households : 
parents and children, masters and seivants; and ministers 



228 RELIGIOUS INSTHUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

are in duty bound to watch over the whole; ihey are 
responsible for the whole. And yet how many churches 
employ their ministers, and never require them to give 
any attention at all to the Negroes connected with them 
and for whose religious instruction they are responsible 
to God ? They come and go from the house of God 
month after month and even year after year, perfectly 
satisfied and quiet in conscience, feasting upon the pro- 
visions of that house, and their dependent servants 
starving for the bread of life ! Yea, more, there are 
ministers of the Gospel who conceive themselves settled 
over the whites only, and are contented to have it so, 
and make their weekly preparations, from one year to 
another fur them only; and the Negroes, although 
needing far more their labors, and for whose religious 
instruction they arc responsible toGod, are])assed over! 
Where such a course of conduct is persisted in, after 
the light has been communicated for its reproof, it can 
but be considered monstrous injustice, and an evidence 
of a most defective, if not spurious Christianity. 

Ministers settled over churches in the slave States 
should devote special attention to the colored portion of 
their charge. 

They should devote a •portion of each Sabbath to 
regular preaching of the Gospel to the Negroes : and 
at such time of the day as may be most convenient. 
They will secure larger congregations on this day than 
on any other, as it is the day of rest and religious 
worship. 

They should, where it is possible, give a lecture 1o 
the Negroes, during the week on some evening; and in 
the country, where this exercise cannot be had, let them 
substitute, one or two plantation meetings. Such 



MEANS AND PLANS. 229 

meetings may be connected with their pastoral visita- 
tions to the white families, and thus do good to the 
entire households. There are ministers who perform 
their duties in this manner, and thereby secure the 
warmest affections of their people. They should have 
in their churches regular Sabbath schools for children 
and youth and adults, which schools may be conducted 
by elders or deacons, or private members, and occasion- 
ally visited and catechised and addressed by themselves. 

The great hope of permanently benefiting the Negroes 
is laid in Sabbath schools, in which children and youth 
may be trained up in the knowledge of the Lord. Such 
schools ought to be connected with every church in the 
Southern Country ; and with ordinary effort may be 
kept up and conducted with success from year to year. 
I am acquainted with schools which have been in exist- 
ence from seven to nine years, in which youlh have 
grown up and mairied. Some continue after marriage 
in the schools, and retaining their interest, bring their 
little children with them. Those that leave, have their 
places filled by children that have become old enough 
to go to school. And thus the schools retain their 
usual number from year to year. The effect of them 
has been to increase in a high degree the religious intel- 
ligence of the people generally ; to benefit their man- 
ners; to improve their morals ; elevate their character ; 
and make them greater respecters of the Sabbath, more 
regular in their attendance upon the public worship of 
God; more mindful of the various duties of life; and 
when converted, more lasting and consistent members 
of the church. 

If a people are to be instructed orally, let the instruc- 
tion be communicated to them in early life. It will 
20 



S30 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

then do tliem most good ; they will learn to use their 
memories and their reasoning powers and be prepared 
to profit by the more elevated services of ibe sanctuary. 
The amount of religious knowledge which may be com- 
municated orally, can be conceived of Ly those only, 
who have made the experiment. 

We may sometimes witness zeal and effort expended 
in keeping up in a church a Sabbath school of some fif- 
teen or twenty white children, while immediately around 
and in connection with that church there arc perhaps 
one hundred and fifty, if not two hundred colored 
children, growing up in ignorance and vice ! How 
large an amount of religious instruction might be com- 
municated to our colored population in the South, if in 
every regular place of worship Sabbath schools for 
colored children and youth could be originated and per- 
petuated? And how much good, and at how small an 
expense of time and labor, might numbers of private 
Christians in our churches accomplish (who now do 
comparatively, if not absolutely nothing at all,) if they 
would engage vigorously in schools of this character? 
A field great and wide is opened in the South for the 
establishment of Sabbath schools sufficient to employ 
all our zeal and effort in the good cause. And why may 
not ministers of the Gospel bring forward and present 
the claims of this field ? 

In addition to the regulai Sabbath schools now recom- 
mended, ministers of churches ought to have stated 
seasons for the gathering together of all the colored 
members, that they may form a more intimate acquaint- 
ance Avith them ; and hold a conference of prayer and 
exhortation, at which time suitable instruction in Chris- 
tian doctrine and duties may be communicated to them. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 2^1 

This is surely of great importance. For whatever 
pains may be taken to instruct candidates for church 
membership, the almost universal practice is to leave 
them to themselves after they become members, and no 
further efforts are made to advance them in knowledge. 
This is a great, a serious erroi. They require as much 
Instruction after admission to the church as before. 

At the seasons now spoken of Ze^ the colored children 
of the church and congregation be assembled by the 
pastors, for catechetical instruction ; let them be thus 
assembled as often in the year as is convenient. It is 
the duty of pastors to "feed the lambs;" nor should 
Sabbath schools ever be made a substitute with pastors 
for these catechetical exercises with the children and 
youth of their cliarge. Ihcy are to instruct, them and 
become acquiiinted with them, as lambs of their fiock ; 
they are to teach the children to look up to them as 
their spiritual guides and rulers. The judgment and 
experience of the churches have approved and recom- 
mended and established these exercises for children and 
youth in all ages. If ministers are bound to assemble 
the white children, they are equally bound to assemble 
the colored chiklren. This is the duty in churches of 
all denominations, especially in those denominations 
which hold to infant membership — the original and 
only constitution which God has given to his church on 
earth, in regard to its members — believers, together with 
their infant children. 

There are some churches in which the infant children 
of colored members are regularly acknowledged by the 
rite of baptism, and their baptisms are recorded and 
preserved. The Episcopaleans are most faithful in this 
duty. But it cannot be disguised that there are very 



232 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

many churches in which the duty in respect to the Negro 
children, (however strictly it may be attended to in 
respect to the white children,) is wholly neglected; and 
for what reason it is impossible to say. Such churches 
lay themselves open to the charge of inconsistency, as 
well as want of proper regard for their colored mem- 
bers, and by their neglect lose the opportunity of secur- 
ing a greater amount of interest in, as v/cll as of 
instruction for, their children. It is the duty of these 
churches to have the infant children of all their colored 
members brought forward and baptized and enroled, and 
the children taken under the care and faithful instruc- 
tion of the pastors; and where the duties of pastors 
and churches are properly fulfilled, the effects will be of 
the happiest kind. The churches will present an example 
to the world of consistency, unity, purity, and success. 

Pastors should attend the funerals which occur in 
their colored congregations and particularly in their 
i^olored membership. They are children of affliction and 
sorrow as well as others, and need as much the conso- 
lations of religion, and the sympathies of Christian 
ministers and friends. It is cold, heartless, senseless 
heathenism that neglects death, and yields no balm to 
the wounded soul. But it is Christianity that invests 
that event with importance and comes to wipe away the 
tears of sorrow and bind up the broken heart. Our Lord 
never neglected the poor in their affliction; and no 
servant should be above his Lord. 

They should also solemnize their marriages ; and at 
their own homes and at such times as may best suit their 
convenience, for like the rest of mankind, they like to 
see their friends in their own houses, and give them on 
such joyous occasions, the best entertainment they can 



MEANS AND PLANS. 233 

afford. Some ministers are in the habit of requiring for 
their own convenience, the people to appear and be 
married at the church. The consequence is, tliey are 
called upon very seldom; the people contrive to have 
their marriages solemnized at home. Church marriages 
are not more popular with the lower than with the higher 
classes in society. 

The formal solemnization of their marriages is of 
great importanc3 if their improvement in morals and 
religion is the object sought after. The effect is to ele- 
vate and throw around the marriage state peculiar 
sacredness. It is rendered "honorable in all." Poly- 
gamy and licentiousness are rebuked and overthrown. 
Masters protect families more, and make greater efforts 
to preserve them from separation. 

That very great reforms can be made among the 
Negroes, in the sacredness and perpetuity of their mar- 
riage relations, admits of no question. The experiment 
has been tiied and proven. 

Another duty required of ministers is that thny attend 
with their sessions punctually and diligently to the 
discipline of colored members. 

Their discipline amounts to nothing at all in some 
churches, being left almost if not altogether to their 
colored watchmen ; while in other churches it is most 
shamefully neglected. Cases are reported, (docketed 
or not as it may happen,) summarily disposed of, or 
deferred from time to time, until they are forgotten and 
never acted upan, or called up when it is too late to do 
any good. Ministers with their sessions should feel in 
duty bound to take sufficient time and exercise sufiicieflt 
patience, and never ht cases accumulate on hand, but 
promptly dispose of them when they are in possession 
20* 



234 RELIGIOUS IKSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

of all the necessary facts and testimony. The Negroes 
stand as much in dread of church censures as any other 
class of members, and discipline punctually and effi- 
ciently executed produces the most desirable results. 

Ministers with their ciders and deacons should see to 
it that committees of instruction be appointed of the 
best members, not excluding thenselves, to attend to 
inquirers, and suspended and excommunicated mem' 
hers. The committee should be distributed at different 
points in the congregations so as to suit the convenience 
of the Negroes, that they may not have too great a dis- 
tance to walk for instruction. The churches also may 
make a rule to receive no person for examination for 
church membership, or foi le-admission, who does not 
come recommended by some one of the committee. 

I would add once more, that ministers should endeav- 
or to awaken their church members especially masters 
and mistresses, to the great duty of affording suitable 
instruction to the Negroes. 

They will necessarily be obliged to preach on the 
subject; and to converse on it in private. They ought 
not to be satisfied with preaching and conversing, but 
suggest plans and put the people upon an active dis- 
charge of duty and recommend and if necessary assist 
them, in establishing plantation instruction, in the way 
of weekly schools, and evening prayers. The work of 
religious instruction lies neglected in many a region of 
our country for no other reason than that those to whom 
the people look for guidance, are silent and inactive. 

Is it said that this is imposing a great amount of 
labor on ministers, in addition to their care of the other 
class in their churches? Be it so. Is it imposing a 
single thing more than what ought to be done for the 



MEANS AND PLANS. ^5 

Negroes? And are not ministers called in the Scrip- 
ture, " Zaiorcrs ?" What else have they to do, who 
undertake pastoial charges, but to attend faithfully to 
them? If they find they have undertaken too large a 
charge let them seek a smaller one and give place to 
some one more able to fill their station. If this be im- 
possible, let them endeavor to procure assistants. If 
the people will grant none, then make a proper division 
of time and efforts between both classes. Do something' 
— almost any thing is better than the dead calm of 
indifference and idleness. 

We are to look in the second place, to ministers of 
the Gospel, employed as missionaries to the Negroes. 

There are extensive regions of countr}'- in the South 
and South-west, especially those bordering upon river 
courses and embracing river bottoms, and the most 
fertile lands, which are inhabited by a dense population 
of Negroes and by a small population only of wliites, 
(which, indeed, is almost wholh" withdrawn in the sickly 
season of ihe year.) Such regions, if ever lo be sup- 
plied with the Gospel, must be supplied through the 
instrumentality of missionaries. 

The missionaries should be Southern men, or men no 
matter from what country, yet identified in views, feel- 
ings and interests with the South, and who possess the 
confidence of society. Such missionaries better under- 
stand the civil condition and relations of the Negroes 
and their general circumstances, and are better qualified 
to preach the Gospel to them. 

Men who feel that they cannot preach the Gospel to 
their fellow men, unless tJiey are in some particular 
civil condition, and to bring them into that condition i» 
with them more necessary than lo bring them to Christ; 



236 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

and upon which all their preaching and teaching must 
have a bearing to be in their estimation of any benefit ; 
are the most unfit men in the world to come among us. 
Because they are, in tho first place, dangerous to the 
peace and order of the country;- ; and in the next place, 
are ignorant of the first principles of Christianity which 
is a religion adapted to mankind in all their various 
conditions, and is primarily intended to secure the salva- 
tion of the soul. Men of this stamp are always restless, 
fault-finding, impatient, unsuccessful ministers. I have 
known such obtain settlements in the South, but remain 
in them not long. They have left fields of great extent 
for missionary and ministerial labor, and have become 
wandering stars through one free Slate after another 
and finally settled in obscurity. Some of them having 
sold their servants and lands, and gathered all together, 
have shaken the dust off their feet, and become warm 
opponents of slavery ; but have found no more peace 
than before. Such ministers have mistaken their own 
case. Their difficulties are not external, they are inter- 
nal. The Southern people are, therefore, perfectly 
right in requiring missionaries of proper character, and 
not more with a view to their own peace, than to the 
profitable instruction of the Negroes themselves. Such 
individuals as would come under the garb of ministers 
and inculcate insubordination, and while they say to 
owners, "art thou in health my brother?" aim direct 
yet covert blows at their peace and prosperity, if not 
their very existence, are incendiaries of the worst order 
and for whom the laws provide very summary justice? 
To supply the wants of the Negroes in the Southern 
States, large numbers of missionaries are required, but 
where shall they be obtained, and how shall they be 



MEANS AND PLANS. 237 

supported ? Both melancholy questions, for they admit 
of no satisfactory answer. "The harvest truly is plen- 
teous, but the laborers are few ; pray ye therefore the 
Lord of the harvest tliat he will send forth laborers into 
his harvest." Such is our Lord's command. We have 
not missionaries in sufficient numbers to supply the des- 
titute white population ; we have churches able in part, 
if not altogether able, to support their own ministers, 
which find it difficult to obtain them. Yet, as in the 
business world, if a demand is created for an article it 
will shortly be produced to the extent of the demand, so 
is it in the religious world. If a demand for missiona- 
ries be created, a supply will be obtained. The experi- 
ence of the church in other fields of missionary labor 
has demonstrated the fact. 

We may, therefore, proceed to show how missionaries 
to the Negroes may be C7npIoi/ed and supported and this 
may be the direct mode of finding out where they are to 
be procured. 

By domestic missionary societies; which exist in, 
perhaps, all the denominations. The funds which are 
contributed in the churches and by individuals, may be 
judiciously applied to the support of missionaries to the 
Negroes, as well as to the whites, and for the support of 
ministers in feeble churches, to which numbers of 
Negroes are attached. The particular denomination 
employing missionaries through its own society will be 
responsible for the same. Missionaries are now under 
the employ of such societies in the South. 

By presbyteries, associations, conferences, and con- 
vocations, without the agency of avy society. 

The contributions are taken up in the churches and 
collections made by order of the church judicatory acting 



238 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

in the premises, and it appoints and is responsible for 
the missionaries. Some presbyteries and associations 
adopt this plan, and it succeeds very well. There are 
but few, indeed, of our church judicatories which could 
not, with suitable effort, support at least one if not more 
missionaries to the Negroes in such parts of their bounds 
as may need them. 

By one, or more churches uniting their contributions. 

Some churches, which for the wealth they contain, 
and the large annual income of their members, are of 
themselves abundantly able to support a minister for the 
white part of the congregation, and a minister for the 
colored par^ And where the labor of attending to both 
classes is too great for one minister, they ought to have 
another. There are churches in no inconsiderable num- 
bers, having a net income of from fifteen to fifty, and 
from fifty to eighty thousand dollars reckoning in mem- 
bers of the churches and congregations, and yet which 
give from five hundred to a thousand dollars for the sup- 
port of one minister only; and that minister having 
within reach, ivom fifteen hundred to three thousand Ne- 
groes ! — Surely the spiritual wants of the Negroes, 
should be attended to. 

Two or more churches, of one or more denominations 
contiguous to each other, might unite and support a mis- 
sionary to the Negroes connected with them; and the 
expense would be comparatively light upon each. 

By one or more planters, employing and supporting a 
Missionary for their own people. 

There are some planters, and some estates, whose 
immense incomes warrant the employment of a religious 
instructor from year to year. For example, there are 
net incomes, realized by individual proprietors, and by 



MEANS AND PLANS. 239 

estates, varying from fen to thirty thousand dollars, out 
of which there is not contributed for the religious in- 
struction of the Negroes, and I mean iht'w own Negroes, 
over tweuty-five-ox fifty dollars, or perhaps one hundred) 
and from some of these large incomes, not one cent! 
And the Negroes, whose labor is thus profitable, are in 
want of the word of life! 

On such large plantations, as a mere matter of gain, 
a religious instructor should be employed. 

By planters in the same neighborhood uniting, the 
support of a missionary is rendered light. Fix the sal- 
ary of the missionary ^i fine hundred dollars; and ten 
planters at fifty dollars each, will pay it. The hoard of 
the missionary if he be a single man might be given to 
him by the different ftimilies; or locating with his fami- 
ly in some central point, by presents of provisions, his 
living might be made cheap. The missionary thus em- 
ployed could visit every plantation once in two weeks, 
catechise the children and preach to the adults, besides 
meeting all the plantations on the Sabbath, either at one 
or more stations, and in like manner carry forward his 
work of preaching and catechising. 

I am persuaded that this is one of the most economi- 
cal and successful plans of planters' supplying their peo- 
ple with adequate religious instruc'ion. They employ 
the men; they know their character and qualifications; 
they regulate their operations; they control everything. 

We are to look \n\.\\Q third place, to owners themselves, 
to communicate the Gospel to the Negroes. 

Pious owners are intended ; we cannot expect the 
duty to be performed by those who are not pious. Should 
botlt heads of the household be pious, so much the bet- 
ter; if one only, whether it be the master or mistress, 
much may be done. 



240 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

[1] The owner should impress upon his people the 
great duty of attending public worship on the Sabbath, 
and should use every proper effort to induce them to 
do so. 

Frequent conversations with delinquents will have a 
good effect ; and where it is necessary, suitable clothes 
should be given for the purpose. 

[2] He should also, where a Sabbath school is con- 
ducted in his neighborhood, make all the children and 
youth attend punctually. To secure this end, let them 
be given in charge of some responsible person on the 
plantation on Sabbath morning to take them to church. 
In the absence of the owner or manager, let the driver 
be instructed to send the children. As they are careless 
with their clothing, and as parents neglect frequently to 
wash and to mend f(.)r them, it would be well for owners 
to supply the children with a suit to be worn only on 
the Sabbath, which might be kept either by parents or 
given in charge of some careful person. 

[3] The plantation should be brought under religious 
i7ifiuences, and the physical condition of the people be 
improved. 

The owner, in order to success in the religious 
instruction of his people, must in all his intercourse and 
treatment of them exhibit the spirit of religion ; other- 
wise his people will have no confidence in him and no 
respect for his efforts. 

Let him begin with the improvement of their pftyszcaZ 
condition. Let him furnish them with convenient and 
comfortable houses ; properly partitioned off, and well 
ventilated, and neatly whitewashed, and sufficiently large 
to accommodate the families resident in them; and 
furnished with necessary articles for house hold use. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 241 

Each house should also have a small lot for a garden, 
poultry yard, apiary, and oihei purposes, attached to it. 
Independent of this lot, the families should have cs much 
ground to plant fur themselves during the year as they 
can profitably attend ; and also the priiilcge of raising 
poultry and hogs ; indeed every privilege and oppor- 
tunity allowed them to make themselves comfortable 
and to accumulate money. The greater the interest 
which they have at stake on the plantation, the greater 
security for their gtjod behavior, and the greater pros- 
pect of their moral improvement. 

I know plantations u[)on wliich industrious men im- 
proving their opportunities, sell during the year poultry, 
stock, and produce of their own raising, to the amount 
of thirty, fifty, and a hundred dollars. 

The clothing of the people, both adults and children, 
should be attended to, and a proper care of their clothing 
required of all. Habits of neatness about their houses 
and lots, and personal cleanhncss, should be insisted on. 
' The provisions of the plantation should be sound 
and good and abiindan', ind as various as the means of 
the planter will allow. 

The labor just ; securing the interest and prosperity 
of the plantation, and yet leaving the laborers fresh and 
vigorous in life and spirits. They should also have 
sufficient time and time in its proper season allowed 
them to work their own crops. The motto should be 
♦'live and let live." 

Punishments should be inflicted upon those y)?'0Z3fn 
guilty, {neither in anger, nor out of proportion to the 
offence,) with as little resort to corporal chasliscmcnt as 
possible. I'onlinernent and deprivati ai o' privileges may 
be substituted, as well as other modes. Offences against 
21 



842 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

each other, against the laws of God and good neighbor- 
ship with other plantations, should be punished as well 
as against the authority and interest of the owner. 

While punishments shoulil be justly meted out, so 
ought also rewards. And the rewards should be such 
as consists with the means of the owner. A familiar 
acquaintance with the character and circumstances of 
each servant will enable the owner to judge what kind 
of rewards would be most agreeable and advantageous. 
There are many, who in their government, very much 
neglect the fact that while they are " a terror to evil 
doers," they should also be "a praise to them that do 
Avell." The sick should be strictly attended to. But 
impositions from cases of feigned sickness, as strictly 
guarded against. Religion is no hiding place for laziness 
and deceit. 

The owner should, furthermore, inquire into and 
regulate and restrain the conduct of the people iotoards 
each other: teach them propriety of behavior, civility, 
kindness, justice, virtue; and punish overt acts of 
iniquity committed between themselves. 

Cursing and swearing ; breaking the Sabbath ; quar- 
reling and fighting; lying and stealing; the oppression 
of the weak by the strong ; neglect of children on the 
part of parents, or of parents on the part of children, 
or the neglect of one head of the family towards the 
other; neglect of the aged and sick ; cruel acts towards 
dumb beasts ; adultery and fornication ; yea, all sins and 
improprieties existing among them should be observed 
and corrected. The feeling of some that they may do 
and live among themselves just as they please, if they 
will only do their work, belongs neither to humanity nor 
Christianity. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 243 

There should also, be a house erected or some suitabh 
room, always at command in the evening and on the 
Sabbath day, for a place of worship for the people on 
the plantation. What tliey familiarly call " the prayer 
house." Let there be a desk or stand for the books and 
lights, and good seats with backs, and sufficient room. 
Let it be a comfortable place, in winter as well as in 
summer; and the style of its fixing up, such as will 
indicate a respect for religion and religious people. 

In this prayer house, the evening prayers of the planta- 
tion ; the plantation Sunday school ; and the regular 
services of missionaries or ministers, may be conducted. 
It certainly, to say the least, looks most unfavorable for 
the character of owners, to go upon their plantations, 
— some of them extensive, in fine order, well fille<l up 
with houses of all kinds and for all purposes, and not 
even a small room appropriated to religious uses ! The 
Negroes are crowded into one of their own houses, too 
small for their accommodation, on which account many 
do not attend prayers ; and should the minister or mis- 
sionary come, he is taken into some out house, prepared 
for the occasion, badly seated and cheerless at best ; or 
the Negroes are taken into the house of the owner, 
where they are not sufficiently at home to be at ease. 
God has no tabernacle to dwell in on such planta- 
tions; and the Redeemer has not where to lay his head! 
It is the duty of every Christian master to see that his 
people are accommodated with a place of worship. A 
neat little chapel, with its tower or steeple and bell, while 
it is an ornament to a plantation, gives an air of stability 
and sobriety to it, awakens religious associations in thQ 
mindsof the people, and produces the best of influences. 



241 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

[4] The owner must undertaJce the religious instruction 
of the people, himself. 

As our liope of permanently benefiting any people by 
religious instruction, lies in bringing children and youth 
statedly and constantly under it, the owner must collect 
kis Negro children, and with some suitable book, carry 
forward their instruction from year to year. Let ihera 
be collected into a school, and taught for a short lime 
daily, or twice or three times during the week, or on 
Sabbath evening; either by himself, his wife, or some 
member of the family. The children being required to 
come with clean faces and hands, their hair combed, and 
clothes in good order, and to behave quietly, and be at- 
tentive and obedient, soon relish the exercise and improve 
under it in disposition, manners, appearance, intelligence 
and morality. The master thus early becomes acquainted 
with the tempers and characters of the children and 
takes them thus early under discipline, and much trouble 
is saved in after life. Viewed merely as auxiliaries ta 
plantation order and discipline thoy are of the first im- 
portance. The effect of these schools upon parents 
also, is iiighly beneficial. They feel grateful for the 
pains taken by their owners with them, and exhibit grat- 
ification and pride in their improvement. They endeavor 
also to fulfil their own duties to them better. 

Having thus taken the children under instruction, h© 
must not omit the adulls. 

With these he can meet every evening, or as frequently 
as possible in the proijer house. At the ringing of the 
bell, let teacher and people be punctual, and ihe exercises 
pointed and short. For exanjple a portion of scripture 
read, with a few leading questions asked which will serve 
to keep up their attention, and a remark or two founded 



MEANS AND PLANS. 2^8 

on the passage ; then a hymn ; and the whole c'oscd 
\y\\.\\ prayer ; but not with Zov^ prayer. The time not 
exceeding twenty or twenty-five minutes. The aduhs 
(by varying the exercises,) may and indeed, ought to be 
taiiglit, the Lord's prayer, the ten commandmenis, the 
creed and hymns, and ii.siructed in singing. It will be 
proper also to take them through some catechism. 

Connected with this instruction the owner should asi 
occasion offers or at regular times, converse privately 
with the people on the great subject of their souls' salvai-' 
lion. The members of the church should receive hia 
special attention. They may also be put under the 
watch of some one of their own color of approved dis- 
cretion and piety, who may report their general conduct 
from time to time. Whenever there are any under 
serious impressions, or hoprfuUy converted, and are desi- 
rous of uniting with the church of God, particular pains 
should be taken to have thern properly instructed. These 
are golden opportunities not to be omitted. 

It will bo the duly of the owner also, should lie be a 
believer in the infant membership with the visible church 
of God, of the children of believers, to have the children 
of such of his servants as are connected with his own 
church regularly presented in the assembly of God^a 
people and baptized. Such baptisms should be recorded 
by the church and he ought also to make a record of 
them, as well as of the bapiism of the other children of 
his household. lie should stand with the parents in 
that interesting and solemn moment and the children 
thus baptized should be under his special care and 
instruction, and no means in his power should bo left 
unused to perfect as far as possible that religious educa- 
tion which he ii5 under obligations to afford them. 
21* 



f43 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

It is much easier to neglect this duty than to perform 
it : and many shrink from the responsibilities imposed 
upon them by their own faith ; and while they seriously 
neglect the spiritual interests of their people, they lay 
themselves and their church also, under the charge of 
great inconsistency. The Lord said of Abraham — " for 
I know him, that he will command his children and his 
household after him, and they shall keep the way of the 
Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may 
bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." 
— Gen. 18: IS), It is the faithfulness of the head of the 
hotisehold, which causes God to bring upon him, the 
fulness of his covenant blessings: "I will be a God to 
thee and to thy seed alter thee." 

But the owner, perhaps, interposes some objections to 
the duties now required of him. Some of these were 
considered in the Third Part of this work, and the 
reader is referred back to them. 

The owner objects to the amount of labor and care 
involved in religious instruction conducted as novr 
recommended. It would make the master the greatest 
servant on his own plantation. 

The instances are extremely rare of a man's over 
working himself in this department of benevolent action, 
and I do not apprehend any danger from unfolding to 
owners the entire round of their obligations and duties 
to their servants, on that score. Can the owner place 
his finger upon a single thing recommended which would 
be better dispensed with than performed : or which does 
not appear to be his duly at all? 

Looking at the gross, the amount appears, large, and 
is indeed large. But all the labors and cares and duties 
do not occur on one day, nor any two of them at one 



MEANS AND PLANS. 247 

parlicuhr moment of time. They lie along the track of 
time, and the owner takes them up in the order of their 
occurrence. And if he be a man of system and energy 
he will have a place for every thing and every thing in 
its time, and although he may not accomplish all he 
desires or undertakes, yet he will accomplish a great 
deal, to the satisfaction of his own mind and conscience 
and to the peace and comfort of his people. 

When a master is impressed with his obligations to 
his servants, and acts in view of eternity, he will find 
himself strengthened and made willing not only to under- 
take but to do a great deal for them. It should, however, 
not be disguised that that planter who undertakes the 
religious instruction and moral improvement of his peo- 
ple, must look upon it in the light of a labor. He 
necessarily undergoes, at least for a iime, greater trials 
and expense, than the planter who does not. He is 
obliged to correct all the bad habits of government, all 
the debasing thoughts in relation to the Negroes which 
may unconsciously prevail in himself. He is obliged to 
correct vvhnt is manifestly wrong in his own deportment 
on his plantation, and to live up to that Christianity 
which he would teacli. Thus one grand means of 
elevating his own moral and religious character will be 
an attempt to improve that of his servants! But this 
self-discipline is laborious and painful. And further, in 
promoting the moral improvement of his people, as 
already remarked, he must improve their physical con- 
dition — an almost interniinable work. In the progress 
of his efforts the master will have painful evidence of the 
idleness, carelessness, ignorance, deceit, and degradation 
of his servants. He will experience disappointments 
and mortifications in respect to servants whom he deemed 



248 RELIGIOUS mSTRUCTIOJ^; O^ THE KEGR0E3. 

the most virtuous, honest, ami obe<llent. He may even 
encounter opposition to moral reform from some of them. 
They may sport with his instructions, pervert his mo-, 
lives, corrupt the children and youth, and be guilty of 
improprieties on purpose to, irritate j^nd induce Iiira to 
forego hisattempl to bring the plantation under religious 
influence, to which their natural feelings are opposed. 
These are difficulties and trials, but ought not to deter ?^ 
master from doing his dut3\ 

There are planters who think thatthey confer a/<i»p,7; 
on their people by giving them instruction. It is a, 
favor in one sense, but not in another — stisctly speak- 
ing he who discliarges his duty to another confers no 
favor. They think also that they confer a favor on the, 
minister or missionary, by granting him permission to 
preach on their plantations. Religious instruction is, 
that wich they may give or withhold according to their 
good pleasure. There must be an eniire revolution in 
the views and feelings of such owners before they will 
conscientiously undertake and prosecute the religiousi 
instruction of their people. 

We are to look in the fourth place to elders and.lar/ 
men, to afford religious instruction to the Negroes. 

Elders and laymen, of good spirit and qualification^,, 
in churches destitute of pastors or stated supplies, might 
originate and continue Sabbath schools and Sabbath 
instruction for the Negroes as well as for the Avhites. 

They miglit also, by some arrangement visit a planta- 
tion once a week and hold evening prayers with the 
people. They might read and expound a portion of 
Scripture, and converss with the members of the church 
and with those under serious impressions. By uniting 
with paUors in labor of this sort, they would become 



MEANS AND PLANS. 249 

most valuable auxiliaries. There have been associaliona 
whose members have for some considerable time exerted 
themselves with self-sacrifice in doing good in this 
manner. 

The instruction of the Negroes by missionaries, by 
owners, and by elders and laymen of the church, is 
liable to many delays and interruptions, and in the pres- 
ent state of the work and the subject in our country, our 
main dependence must be upon the settled pastors and 
stated supplies of our churches : and I venture to speak 
further on this point, at the risk of repetition. 

The churches should convert their pastors, somewhat 
into missionaries, and they would then provide, with 
little or no additional expense, permanent instruction 
for the Negroes. The religious instruction of the 
Negroes properly and officially devolves, and in large 
measute, depends upon settled pastors; and if all 
pastors and stated supplies in the several denominations 
would perform their duty to the Negroes attached to 
their congregations, there would be comparatively 
speaking, over immense tracts of country, but little need 
of missionaries ; religious instruction would pervade the 
South, the reproach of ihe neglect of our colored 
population, would be wiped away, and blessings tempo- 
ral and eternal be conveyed to thousands now ready to 
perish. It is an encouraging fact that pastors are direct- 
ing their attention to this field more than ever, and that 
our young ministers when they settle, seem disposed to 
devote, and that conscientiously, a reasonable portion of 
their time to the colored part of their charges. 



250 aruGious iKSTRUcnoM op thb NcanoES. 



CHAPTER III 



The Manner in which the Gospel should be communicated to the 
Negroes, so as to meet the character, condition, and circumstances 
of the people. — Conclusion. 

The concluding chapter I shall throw into distinci 
heads, embracing several particulars relating to the 
religious instructon of the Negroes, which could not 
with propriety be introduced before. 

1. Manner of Preaching: 

As preaching depends upon the preacher, it will not 
be amiss to inquire u'hat kind of preachers are needed 
for the Negroes ? 

Certainly not ignorant preachers. It is the opinion 
of some, that any body will do to preach to the Negroes, 
which is an erroneon? opinion — the child of ignorance 
itself. No inconsiderable a part of that misery into 
which the fall brought mankind, is a darkened under- 
standing. It is not more true that " the world lieth in 
wickedness," than that they have " the understanding 
darkened being alienated from the life of God through 
the ignorance that is in them." There is the blindness of 
the mind and the hardness of the heart ; and they act 
and re-act the one upon the other. Our Lord has taught 



MEANS AND PLANS. 261 

H8 also, thai men "?ore darkness rather than light;" 
— this very state of blindness and haidness. They do 
not like to "retain God in their knowledge." Hence 
the more ignorant they are of God the more wicked 
they are. And the more ignorant and wicked, the 
greater the difficulty of enlightening and elevating them. 
It will be seen that the difficulty is increased a tiiousand 
fold, when the only access which the people have to the 
light, is through the living teacher. 

The primary work of a minister is to dissipate this 
natural blindness of men's minds in respect to God, by 
pouring in upon them in the most suitable manner, "the 
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ," and in this way quickening the con- 
science and moving the heart. To put men to this work 
who are not only unlearned but ignorant, is to put the 
blind to lead the blind ; and as a result, "both shall fall 
into the ditch." Shallow vessels are soon emptied. 
"When the -watchmen are blind — are all ignorant; they 
quickly become dumb dogs, that cannot bark. They 
become weary with their own noise, and ashamed of the 
little impression they make upon men ; — their intellects 
are stagnant. They are mere dreamers in knowledge, 
and a spirit of indifference and inefficiency creeps over 
them, and they are "lying down, loving to slumber." — 
Isa. 56: 10, II. Oar Divine Lord \si\\e great teacher 
that has come from God, and ever has been and ever 
Vt\\\he\\\e^* light of the world. His ministers after 
him he calls and requires to be " the light of the worldJ** 
"To be instructed unto the kingdom of heaven ;" and 
he sends them unto their fellow men, " to open their 
eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from 
the power of Satan unto God."— JoAn 1:4. 3: 2-19. 
8: 12. Matt.b: 14. 13: 52. Acts'^: 17,18. 



252 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

We need for the conlinucd and swcce^s/uZ instruction 
of the Negroes, as well educated and as intelligent nnin- 
isters and as good preachers as the churches can supply. 
It is the experience of all those who can lay claim to 
these qualifications, who have entered upon the work of 
the religious instiuction of the Negroes, that instead of 
requiiingless talents and learning,they have needed more 
than they possessed, and that they found the benefit of 
all the knowledge they had acquired. Some preachers, 
really ignorant and unfurnished for their office, quickly 
expending their stock of knowledge, and exhausting all 
their manoeuvres and invention to keep the people inte- 
rested, have first been deserted by the people, and then 
have deserted themselves. Others, well qualified in 
every respect, selling their standard of sermonizing and 
of intellectual effort low, have thought " any sort of a 
sermon " would do for the Negroef^, and the Negroes 
have been wise enough to estimate their powers upon 
their own showing, and proud enough not to be put off 
with any sort of a sermon, and have therefore stayed 
at home or gone where thoy have thought ihej' could do 
better. The preachers in the mean while have wondered 
at the fiilling off in their congregation — at the careless- 
ness, hardness and indifference of the Negroes, and 
have perhaps given over effort, saying "it is of no use; 
they will not come," their consciences perfectly satisfied 
and at rest, " they have done what they could I " 

Ministers in preaching to the Negroes, sometimes 
say, "they cannot interest them; tliey have no turn for 
it; they cannot make themselves understood." They 
have felt like exclaiming with Dr. Chalmers on a certain 
occasion, when laboring to put the inhabitants of Kil- 
many in possesion of some of his ideas, "I would make 
it plainer to you if I could ! " 



MEAN'S AND PLANS. 253 

No one will deny that an acquaintance with the char- 
acter, condition, and circumstances of a people, and 
some practice in addressing them, are highly advanta- 
geous to him who preaches to them. But it is the duty 
of ministers to attain to a thorough understanding of the 
doctrines and duties of Christianity, and to cultivate 
such a facility of expression and of language, as to be 
able to unfold both doctrines and duties intelligibly to 
the weakest hearer. When a minister is not able to do 
the latter, he may be suspected of not having attained 
\\\Q former. The knowledge of some men is general and 
indistinct. They are able to say much on subjects, call 
them by their right names, and use the ordinary phrase- 
ology ; but are not masters of the subjects themselves, 
so that they can take them to pieces, show the different 
parts and put all together again. One boy draws his 
figure, demonstrates his problem, and thinks he under- 
stands it perfectly. Now take his book away and rub 
out his lines and letters, and set him to the demonstration 
and call upon him for the princij)les upon which the 
problem is constructed, and he is at fault after taking 
but one or two steps. Another boy takes tlie problem 
into his mind, lays hold of the thing itself; gets entire 
possession of it, and is able to demonstrate it, in any 
manner desired, resolve it into its first principles, and 
construct it again. This is but an illustralion of what 
we meet with in theological studies. The nomenclature 
of the science is acquired; the order of subjects; and 
general notions of doctrines, and not much more. The 
preacher may perhaps interest what he terms enlightened 
audiences, but when required to analyze truth and pre- 
sent it in a plain way to plain people he cannot do it. 
The more he explains and defines, the moie visible 
23 



254 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

becomes the darkness of his own naind. He takes a 
passage of scripture and studies it; thinks he under- 
stands it ; rises in the desk to deliver an exposition of 
it ; but he does not succeed, and he cannot tell why. 

The general deportment of the minister to tiie Negroes 
deserves attention. He should have reference to the 
character, condition, habits and feelings of the Negroes. 
His address and intercourse should be polite, frank, 
condescending and uniformly kind, and at the same time 
independent. Self-respect and the honor of the Gospel 
will dictate these virtues, and the people will quickly 
discover and rightly appreciate them. In order to secure 
the confidence and respect of the people, he must treat 
them with respect and manifest in word and in deed his 
interest in them. Whining and simpering, familiarity 
and a courting of popularity will destroy his influence. 
He must speak and be accessible to all, and forget not 
to extend charity as occasion offers, to the old and 
infirm. He should notice the children and youth a 
great deal, cultivate their acquaintance and the acquaint- 
ance also of the more prominent, pious, and influential 
members of the church and congregation. Scrupulously 
avoid personal disputes and quarrels with them, and be 
no party in such troubles between them. Act prudently, 
hear both sides, decide justly, and show the reasons for 
the decision. He should avoid making himself the 
repository of tales and difficulties between individuals 
and on plantEitions, and hear no tales at all respecting 
owners and matters which belong to their civil condition. 
— Lulce 12: 13-14. 

He should be among them as their spiritual adviser, 
guide, and friend, and let the people look up to him as 
their minister. He should put himself to inconvenience 



MEANS AND PLANS. 255 

to meet their calls for his services, in times of sickness, 
at weddings and at funerals ; show them that he is their 
friend, and is neither ashamed of them nor their service. 
His language should be as pure Saxon as he can make 
it: and not accomtnodated in any degree whatever to their 
broken English, if he would escape contempt. 

The minister to the Negroes should pay attention to 
the manner, style, and character of Ms preaching. 

His manner should be grave, solemn, dignified, free 
from affectation, hauteur, or familiarity, yet ardent and 
animated. The people like gestures but not grimaces. 
His manner should be respectful. He should not endea- 
vor to impress them with the fact, (should he unfortu- 
nately believe it himself,) that there is an infinite distance 
between him and them, and between his intelligence and 
theirs; and that he has humbled himself amazingly to 
lake their instruction into his hands. Fie must not treat 
them as if they were a parcel of children, or a people 
perfectly stupid. Poor people have feelings as well as 
rich people; and if people are ignorant, and, if you 
please, fools, yet they do not like to be told of it. No 
good comes of it. It is enough for the minister to know 
what they are; let him go on and make them better. 
Nor must he be perpetually scolding and fault-finding, if 
they happen to come a little late to church, if a door 
slams, if a dog comes in, if a child cries, if a man sleeps, 
if they do not pay undivided attention, and so on. No 
people are perfection. Great allowances are to be made 
for the Negroes; and many things wrong among them 
may he owing to the minister himself. He on the coir 
trary ought to proceed upon the principle of kind encour- 
agement — they greatly need it ; and hs should remark 
and praise all that he sees commendable. Praising a 



256 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

virtue is a condemnation of the opposite vice; and in 
many instances is the most efFectual mode of condem- 
ning it. Encouragement stimulates a people to effort, 
and when they see that their minister notices and com- 
mends their efforts they will exert themselves the more. 
It would do some ministers a great deal of good to read 
frequently Is? and 2d Thcssalonians. They might learn 
how highly they ought to think of God's people, and how 
much they ought to praise them for their works of faith 
and labors of love; and how proper it is to deal in kind 
encouragement. 

Style and character of preacliing. Sermons should 
be plain in language, simple in construction, and pointed 
in application, and of any length from a half hour to 
an hour and a quarter, according to the subject and the 
interest of the people. Like all other hearers, they have 
no objection to long sermons if they be good sermons 
and treated well. The reasoning in the sermons may 
be logical and close, if abstract propositions and learned 
arguments are excluded, and the reasoning short and 
made evident by illustrations, which is no very hard 
matter, if a man understands himself what he wishes to 
teach to others.'! As to the subjects of sermons, they 
may embrace the tohole round of the doctrines and duties 
of Christianity ; dwelling chiefly upon those most ap- 
plicable to the people. There is not a single doctrine, 
however elevated, or as some express it, deep and myste- 
rious, which may not be profitably exhibited. In my 
opinion the preacher with proper pains can speedily carry 
them, ignorant as they are conceived to be, to the limits 
of our actual knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity ; 
and what is more, make them know and feel if. The 
human mind, if I may so express myself, is conscious 



KEANS AND PLANS. 257 

when it arrives Rt tie boundaries of religious truth, and 
is there disposed to stop; though pride and impiety, and 
subtle leaders may tempt it to cross them. A little black 
boy returning from Sabbath school was asked by his 
little master, what he had been learning. He answered, 
I have been learning about God. And what did you 
learn about God ? Why, that he made mc. And what 
else did he make? He made all things. Then said his 
little master — but who made God? He replied, no 
body. How then did God come at all ? Why, he did 
not come at all : somebody must he first and begin every 
thing; and that must he God. But hoio can God he first 
and begin every thing? The little black boy answered, 
finally, *' I do n't know ; but it miist be so; and 7 is so." 
To make my meaning plain that the most elevated 
doctrines may be exhibited, and profitably exhibited, to 
ignorant and illiterate people (which certainly is the 
duty of every faithful steward of God,) and that in the 
way onilustration, suppose I wished to bring forward the 
doctrine of electioi: that God is the author of our salva- 
tion and bestows it upon tvhom he pleases ? I would take 
up the history of the Apostle Paul, and show who and 
what he was before his conversion ; and that out of his 
own mouth. Next, show when and where and how he 
was converted : that the thought or wish of becoming a 
Christian never had entered his mind: that he was smit. 
ten to the ground by the brightness of the glory of the 
Lord Jesus, in the full career of his iniquity : and that 
God overpowered him by his Spirit, and shined into hts 
heart, to give him the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And last of 
all, I would show that there was the 77iost wonderful and 
perfect change ivrought in the man, which continued to 
23* 



258 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

his dying day ; and that^ as Paul himself tells us, it w&s 
wrought in Mm by God ; and for no reason whatever, but 
that it was the good pleasure of »his will. Who can 
resist the force of the truth thus presented ? Who can 
resist the inference and application? The same way 
which God took to bring this chief of sinners into his 
kingdom is the same way he takes to bring all sinners 
into his kingdom. The reason which moves him in one 
case moves him in all. The reason is in himself. " Everi 
so Father for so it seemeth good in thy sight!" "Not 
unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name be all the glory." 

Suppose again I wished to bring forward ''free agency 
and accountability ; there is the history of Judas : or 
" that election to eternal life, includes the mea?is thereto^' 
there is the shipwreck of Paul ;. or, " the divinity and 
humanity of Christ — two natures in one person ; " there 
is the storm at sea and many other of his wonderful 
works; or, ''justification by faith alone," there is the 
penitent thief, who had not righteousness enough to save 
him from death at the hands of men, much less, at the 
hands of God. And thus I might enumerate every doc- 
trine and duty of the Holy Scriptures, with their appro- 
priate and striking illustrations. The doctrines are thus 
fastened to the illustration ; or rather the illustrations 
are fastened to the doctrines; and all are nails driven in 
a sure place. They are argued and decided, and laid 
away in the mind as appeal cases. 

Whan the preacher takes a doctrine in hand, let him 
call it by its right name ; and never be afraid to use God's 
own word to give it expression. Does he wish to express 
the awful condition of men before God 1 Paul offers 
him his text: " By nature children of wrath." Does he 
wish to make known the entire depravity of the human 



MEANS AND PLANS. 359 

race? Our Lord commands him to say, " that which is 
born of ihefiesh is flesh.'* Does he wish to prostrate the 
guilty sinner before-God and lead him to feel his inability 
to renew his own heart, and awaken him to look for 
power not his own? Let him take the declaration of 
our Lord, "no man can come unto me except the Father 
which hath sent me draw him." Let him go all the 
height, and length and breadth and depth of the word of 
God openly, strongly, whether they will hear or forbear, 
yet humbly and meekly, not invading the province of the 
divine spirit, and vainly endeavoring to smooth off the 
angles of truth and to lay it quietly into men's minds 
and let it transform them, they know not how nor why. 
The Divine Spirit will take care of his otim truth, plainly 
and believingly delivered : it is designed for saints and 
sinners, it suits their state; they know it, they feel it; 
and he will according to his good pleasure, make it a fire 
and a hammer to break the flinty rock in pieces. 

From the foregoing observations it will be gathered, 
that the preacher to the Negroes, ought to deal much in 
parables, historical events ; biographies; and in exposi- 
tory preaching. And his expository preaching may and 
ought to assume some system. 

Should he select parables, he may take up our Lord's 
parables in order; should he select biographies, he may 
go through the life of our Lord, one event succeeding 
another, to the last sad catastrophe. Or, the lives of the 
Apostles as far as known ; — notices of persons whose 
history is introduced in the New Testament. Does he 
desire to enter upon expository preaching 1 He may 
take up tha Gospels and expound them in order; the 
Acts of the Apostles; and various chapters in the Epis- 
tles. Then there is the whole Old Testament, with the 



^60 RELIGIOUS IXSXnUCTlON OF THE NEGROES. 

creation, fall, flood; the lives of the Patriarchs; the 
entire history of the church of God, filled with extraor- 
dinary characters and events. A studious man and One 
alive to his work, can never be without matter, as well 
new as old, for the instruction of the people. The bible, 
the bible, is the great store house of truth — an ocean 
without a bottom or a shore. 

The practice of expository preaching recommended, 
is one eminently calculated to advance the people m 
knowled e, and of different kinds of preaching is the 
most improving to the minister. He will acquire an 
intimate and extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures ] 
discover the dependence of every part and the union 
of the whole. He will have light falling directly and 
indirectly upon doctrines, and they will become clear to 
his mind, and he cannot tell his various steps to the 
pleasant conclusion. He will gather up a vast variety of 
subjects, and illustrations cf doctrines and duties ; and 
finally know that " all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the 
man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works." — 2 Tim. 3: 16-17. 

But it may be said by some that it is laborious and 
difficult preaching; and that but a few have a talent for 
it. He who would succeed well must labor ; and it is 
worth all the labor expended for it. He must expect to 
encounter difficulties, but they are not insurmountable; 
and the reason why it is discovered that but few have a 
talent for it, is because there are hat few who persevere 
ingly practice expository preaching. 

There are many works which will aid a minister as 
acquiring the tact and the mode — such, for example, in 



MEANS AND PLANS. 261 

Henry's Commentary, Andrew Fuller's Lectures on 
Genesis, Porteus' Lectures on Matthew, Scott's Com- 
mentary, Stuart on Hebrews, Hodge on Romans, Hall's 
Contemplations on the Old and New Testament. The 
list might be extended, but students do not require it, 
and to those who are not students it would be of no 
avail. I mention these few because ihsy are standard 
works and of easy access, and are suflicient as a 
specimev. 

Every imitator is a slave and a bungler. A. minister 
should be familiar with the woriis of eminent men of 
God who have preceded him, and take into his n)ind 
their great and good thoughts, th it it may be expanded 
and sanctified thereby. He ought to study with care 
the sermons of those who have baen most successful in 
winning souls to Christ, searching into the manner of 
their construction, and especially into the principles 
involved in their application. 

But after all he must discipline himself and do his 
own thinking and make his own sermons, and learn to 
teach and to peach f ir himself. He must proceed 
always upon the principle of improvement. What he 
may not do well to day perseverance may enable him to 
do better to-morrow. Then let him know no discourage- 
ment. " The thing can be done; hrj divine aid 1 will 
doit." 

The character of the Negroes both private aid public 
in a state of freedom and in a state of slavery ; their 
habits of thought, superstitions and man lers, should be 
carefully studied by the preacher, so thai he may adapt 
his preaching to them. He will pei-lia- s frequently find 
it necessary to foll.)w the advice of Paul to Titus as to 
the manner in which he should reprove the Creti ■ s, and 
for the same reasons. Titj,s 1 : 1^13. But let him 



262 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

avoid the most distant approximations to coarseness, 
and follow the rule laid down in Eph. 5 : 11,12. 

The strictest order should be preserved at all the 
religious meetings of the Negroes, especially those held 
on the Sabbath day, and punctuality observed in com- 
mencing them at the appointed hour. No audible 
-4 expressions of feeling in the way of groanings, cries, or 
noises of any kind, should be allowed. To encourage 
such things among ignorant ])eople, such as they are, 
would be to jeopard the interests of true religion, and 
open the door to downright fanaticism. They are bad 
at best, among any people — they go from worse to 
worst as we descend in 'hr scale of intelligence. 

Close attention should be paid to their deportment, 
lest they choose the seasons of public worship for 
seasons of business and pleasure ; and what is more, for 
settling up their disputes in regular combats. Disturbers 
of the public peace should be noted down ; the cases 
investigated and summary punishment inflicted by the 
proper authorities on the g lilty. It is the minister's 
duty in all such cases to make a report and see justice 
done. The pious and more orderly and intelligent 
Negroes will always discountenance and oppose such 
unruly conduct. On dismissing his Sabbath congrega- 
tions he should always remain, until he sees them pretty 
well on their way homeward. 

2. Manner of conducting Sabbath Schools. 

Notice of the formation of the Sabbath school for 
colored children and jouth should be carefully and 
geneially given, together with the time and place of 
meeting, and the manner in which, and the persons by 
whom, the school is to be conducted. 



MEANS AND PLANS. 263 

The notice may be given hy the pastor of the church 
in which it is to be formed, who can take occasion to 
commend the effort to the patronage and praj-ers of his 
people; or hy the missionary; ov hy elders, deacons, 
and private Christians who engage in the work, in the 
most advantageous manner that tlieir circumstances may 
admit of. 

The notice should be directed first of all, to owners 
and managers and their support entreated: next, to the 
parents of the children, and the Sabbath school com- 
mended as affording that religious instruction to their 
children which in a majority of instances they cannot 
furnish themselves, and which will contribute to the 
peace and order of their families and to the respecta- 
bility and happiness of iheir children; and last of all, 
to the children and youth themscloes. It will answer a 
good purpose to go into some detail with them, as to the 
manner in which the school will be conducted, and what 
will be taught, and for what end, and how much good 
the school will do them for time and eternity, the advan- 
tages yielded them by it, being suitably improved. 

When the school is collected and opened, if teachers 
can be procured, interested in the work and disposed to 
be useful, then divide the school into classes, as in any 
other school, as nearly according to age and sex, as 
may be possible. Each teacher will then instruct his 
own class, and at the close of the school, let the super- 
intendent take the book and question the school, class 
by class, and all together, applying the lesson with 
suitable remarks and giving the scholars praise for their 
punctuality, good order, and improvement. 

Should it be impossible to obtain teachers, let the 
school be seated according to size and sex, the youngest 



264 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

nearest to the teacher, and then let the teacher whoever 
he may be, teach the whole together, on the infant 
school plan. I have known a minister including in a 
school of this character, his entire colored congiegation 
— children and adult. His spacious church every Sab- 
bath afternoon would be crowded with the young and 
old, manifesting the deepest interest and making com- 
mendable progress ; and in his pastoral visitations, 
hailed by the people one very plantation as their friend 
and benefactor. 

I would say something on manuals and plans of 
instruction. 

In the first part of this work several manuals of 
instruction for colored persons were mentioned. They 
may be mentioned again in this place with advantage. 
There is the '■'■Short Catechism, for the use of colored 
members on trial of the Methodiit Episcopal Church, 
in South Carolina,'''' prepared by Dr. Capers, and used 
by the missionaries of that church in South Carolina 
and Georgia. There is " the Catechism to he used hy 
the teachers in the religious instruction of persons of 
color,'''' etc., "prepared in conformity to a resolution of 
the Episcopal Convention of the diocese of South Car» 
olina, under the direction of the bishop ; " used by the 
Episcopaleans in South Carolina and Georgia. There 
is Dr. Palmer'' s Catechism ; Rev. John 31ine^s ; and 
there is the " Catechism of Scripture Doctrine and 
Practice, designed for the oral instruction of colored 
persons ; " prepared by myself. 

Some persons use "Scripture CarcZ.?," illustrating by 
a picture some event in our Saviour's life ; the passages 
of Scripture together with questions and answers, are 
printed on the cards. Entire portions are taught em- 



MEANS AND PLANS. 265' 

bracing parables and miracles, extracts from the book of 
Common Prayer are also used. Others take the Sciip- 
tures and select the more interesting events and histories 
— beginning with the creation, and continuing through 
the New Testament. They iirst read the passage and 
briefly ex[»lain it, and then take it, verse by verse, and 
ask questions, and repeat, until it is well committed to 
memory"-. 

The *' Union Questions.'''' prepared by the Sunday 
School Union, may be used by the teacher as a guide 
to his subjects, as well as questions. He must of course 
select the questions that are most suitable to his scholarF. 
'■'■Bro^on's Catechism^'" and " Walts'' first and second 
Catechism,'''' are also used. I have never heard of but 
one instance of the ^^ Assembly" s Catechism," in con- 
nection with " Willison''s,'" being used in the oral 
instruction of the Negroes ; that instance was reported 
to have been completely successful. I have no doubt 
but that the teacher might take Willison^s and Fisher's 
catechisms and make a good use of them in the oral 
instruction of the Negroes. As much, it may with 
truth be said, depends upon the teacher as upon the 
manual of instruction used by him. 

To give variety and interest to the exercises of the 
Sabbath school, it is proper to teach the scholars 
hymns and psaltns, and how to sing them. They are 
extravagantly fond of music ; and this taste may be 
turned to good account in their instruction. Watts \\'\\\ 
furnish a g eat number of suitable psalms and hymns, 
and they may be selected from various other ; ulhors. 
Some of the infant school and Sunday school hymns, 
written expressly for children, will answer well. As 
specimens of the ki:id of sacred poetry which the Negro 
23 



268 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

children and youth readily learn, I would mention from 
Watts, "Lord in tlie morning thou shall hear," "Behold 
the morning sun," "There is a God who reigns above," 
"When I can read my title clear," "Jesus with all thy 
saints above," "I'm not ashamed to own my Lord," "Sal- 
vation, O the joyful sound," "Now in the heat of youth- 
ful blood;" and from others, "Jesus thou heavenly 
stranger," "Blow ye the trumpet, blow," "There is a 
fountain filled with blood," "Come humble sinner in 
whose breast," "To whom my Saviour, shall I go," 
"Glory to thee my God this night." 

The tunes should not be intricate but plain and 
awakening. One great advantage in teaching them good 
psalms and hynins, is that they are thereby induced to 
lay aside the extravagant and nonsensical chants, and 
catches and hallelujah songs of their own composing; 
and when they sing, which is very often while about 
their business or of an evening in their houses, they will 
have something profitable to sing. 

In giving oral instruction two plans may be pursued. 
First, the teacher asking the question, and stating the 
answer and then requiring the whole school, or his whole 
class, to answer together. Second, the teacher requring 
the scholars in his class, or school to answer the ques- 
tions, one hy one, one after another, until it is apparent 
the whole know it. Let both plans be united. 

The teacher must be regular and punctual in attending 
the school ; expect and bear with irregular attendance 
on the part of his scholars, as they cannot always com- 
mand their own time, and are subjected to a variety of 
interruptions ; use his best efforts to win their esteem and 
confidence, and to interest them in their lessons and 
hymns; deal largely in encouragement, and let his man- 
ner be lively and spirited without irreverence, sober 



UEAX3 AND PLANS. 267 

without austerity, and Iiis language plain and intelligible 
without being foolish and inaccurate. To relieve the 
schol rs, he should vary their posture, sometimes let it 
be hat of sitting and sometimes that of standing. The 
school should always be dismissed in an orderly manner 
class hy class, and the children and youth, warned 
against noise and play on the holy Sabbath. 

The success of Sabbath schools, under God, depends 
upon the zeal and fidelity of those who have the man- 
agement of them. If superintendents and teachers are 
not of tiie, right character, with the best materials at 
command, the schools will go down. 

3. Manner of conducing Plantation Meetings. 

No plantation meeting should be held except with the 
knowledge and consent of the manager or owner, 
The owner should have timely notice of the meeting, so 
that he m; y make whatever arrangements may be ne- 
cessary for it. The pastor or missionary will find it pro- 
per to sjnd a little note, at times, to this effect : 

"De\r Sir: — If it is agreeable and convenient, I 
will preach for your people on Wednesday evening next. 
Respectfully and truly. 
Your friend, 
C. C. J.'^ 

The invariable reply will be like the following : 

" Dear Sir : — It will be both agreeable and conve- 
nient for you to preach for us on Wednesday evening 
next. It will afford me pleasure to see you. 

Very respectfully yours, 
W. L." 



,268 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

The owner thus takes the meeting under his care and 
is responsible for the congregation and the order of it ; 
and he may or may not> as he pleases confine the meet- 
ing 10 the people on his plantation. It is, however, best 
and every way most desirable to have no people present 
but those belonging to the plantation vpon which the 
meeting is held. A collection of Negroes from several 
plantations around on one central to the whole, at night, 
to attend religious meetings ought not to be allowed* 
The evil in the long run will more than counterbalance 
the good» 

The attendance nf the planter and his family should 
be solicited, as it serves to encourage both the mission- 
ary and the peopJe, and does themselves good also. In 
the majority of instances they need no solicitation, they 
cheerfully go of their own accord. 

The people being assembled the exercises are pre- 
cisely those of an evening sermon or lecture. They 
are opened with singing and prayer, readi.ng the Scrip- 
tures, singing a second time, and then a sermon or ex- 
pository lecture, plain, pointed, short ; and the whole 
closed wiih prayer and singing. 

With preaching to the adults the pastor or missionary 
may connect a catechetical exercise toith the children^ 
aiul also a meeting for the enquirers, should any be on 
the place ; anl these two services may be attended to 
either before or after the lecture for the people. 

Now and then a planter will object to preaching, on 
his own yjla'itation, from prejudice against the minister 
G>r missionar}^ ; or against such kind of meetings, be- 
cause he has seen or heard of some irregularities con- 
nected with them ; or from a hatred to the Gospel itself 
— not wishing its light to shine where he may more 



MEANS AND PLANS. 269 

directly feel its influence. And while he thus excludes 
the Gospel from his plantation and forbids the people to 
assemble ("or religious worship, he will allow them from 
time to time to assemble and have dances and midnight 
revels! All is peace and safely while Satan reigns: 
God only is the author of all evil ! There are now, as 
there were in the Apostle's days, " unreasonable and 
wicked men," and like him, we should pray to be deliv- 
ered from them. 

4. Mariner of treating opposition to. the good work. 

As every work of benevolence has to encounter some 
degree of opposition, so has that of the religious instruc- 
tion of the Negroes. It is impossible in all cases to 
discern the cause whence the opposition proceeds. The 
causes are as various as are the interests, passions, and 
prejudices of depraved men, and as hidden as are the 
thoughts of the heart. 

Thcie being opposition it is to be met according to 
its nature and weighty and much must be left to the 
christian judgment and prudence of the minister of God. 
Our Lord has promised to assist his ministers in a Special 
manner when exposed to opposition from men. The 
following general rules I would suggest for consideration. 

Let opposition be met silently. 

As long as access is had to the field of labor, and 
there are good friends, notice nothing said or done — 
especially if said or done behind one's back. Go on as 
though there were no opposition. 

Let it be met forbearinly. 

Be rather driven to extremities than led to them. For- 
bearance gives one's own mind time to settk down and 
act discreetly, while it gives time to the understanding 
23* 



g^O RELIGIOUS INSTEUCTION OF THE NEGROES; 

and conscience of the enemy to work, and both probably 
will work right, and the enemy will thus vanquish him- 
self and you be saved the trouble of encountering him. 
Forbearance, on the whole, conquers more than open 
res'stance and defiance. 

Let it be met prudently. 

Speak and act so that they will have no f vil thing to 
say of you. " Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to 
wrath : for the vVrath of man worketh not the righteous- 
ness of God." 

Let it be met Jcindly. 

If you know a man is opposed to you and to yout 
work, do not treat him so as to make him see that yen 
know and feel it ; on the contrary treat him openly, 
canilidly, and kindly. Have no gvairels with men be- 
cause they choose not to agree with yuu in your favorite 
plans and principles. 

Should the opposition be open and direct, and there is 
no possibility of avoiding contact with it, then let it be 
met openly, decidedly, and with Christian temper. Let 
your object be not to overcomemen,but their errors; not 
to exalt yourself, but the principles of the truth of God. 
But to conclude : settle it in your mind that where there 
are one hundred cases which upon first sight appear to 
demand notice, after refection will prompt you to pass 
OYer ninety -mne in silence. "The beginning of strife 
is as when one lelteth out water; therefore leave off 
contention before it be meddled with." — Prov. 17: 14. 

5. The manner of spealiing and acting in relation to 
the Civil Condition of the Negroes, 

As ministers or missionaries to the Negroes, in the 
discharge of our official duty, and in our intercourse 



MEANS AND PLAXS. 271 

with the Negroes, 'U)e should hate nothing- to do with 
their civil condition. We are appointed of God to preach 
" the unsearchable riches of Christ " to our perishing 
fellow-men. We aie to meditate upon the duties and 
responsibilities of our ofRce; and to give ourselves 
^'■u-holly^'' to it. We shall, by so doing, in the most 
effec'.ual manner subserve the interests of masters and 
servants, for time and eternity. It is too much the 
fashion of late years, for ministers (I speak not of all,) 
to consider themselves, ex-oficio, the supervisors of 
human afiairs; the conservators of the theological, the 
civil and the political interests of society, and of course, 
as pDssessing wisdom, experience, and observation suffi- 
cient " to entitle them to be heard." Any subject, any 
object of pursuit, however, remotely touching upon the 
religion or morals of the people, is considered as legiti- 
mate "work" to which they may conscienciously devote 
all the powers which God has given them. The evil is 
increased by many who depart out of country places and 
villages, to sojourn where they may find :i place, (in 
large cities if possible.) Some society or newspaper, the 
organ of some reform party, offers the Levite " ten 
shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel and 
his victuals," and he is content to dwell there, and be a 
priest unto them. 

The common reply is that it is an age of free inquiry 
andof discussion and of onward movement,and ministers 
above all others are bound to speak and " to give direc- 
tion to the public sentiment;" nor can they do their 
duty unless they "come out and give support to right 
principles, and decidedly condemn institutions and 
practices in society which they know to be wrong," and 



272 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

much of the same import. Thus societies and parties 
have already decided what is right and wrong, and what 
it is the duty of ministers to do and not to do, and so 
their right of private judgment and of independent 
action is taken quite away, and they become mere foot- 
balls to be struck in any direction at the will of those 
who have the privilege of playing upon them. The 
people have a great horror of being priest-ridden; I 
think the priests ought to have an equal horror of being 
people-ridden. 

Ii is much easier for men to become public lecturers, 
or newspaper editors, and society agents, and pulpit 
declaimers against the sins of their neighbors, and 
against great evils, as they call them, in society, and be 
overwhelmed at their own responsibility for their exist- 
ence, than to traverse obscure lanes and enter wretched 
and abandoned houses, or expose themselves to midnight 
airs and summer suns in unhealthy climates, to relieve 
the veiy people for whom they have so great a love, and 
for whom they feel so deep a sympathy, of some of 
their temporal sufferings, and to convey to them in their 
ignorance and spiritual ruin the glad tidings of salvation. 
To their own master they stand or fall. 

On the civil condition of the Negroes, I here take 
occasion to say, that the Southern people are a far more 
reflecting and discerning people than is imagined by 
some. They are great lovers of their country and of 
the Union. No people understand their political rights 
better or have a more sacred regard to the happy con- 
stitution under which we live ; and no people are more 
independent, decided and fearless in maintaining both 
the one and the other. The degree of general intelli- 
gence among the middling and higher classes of society 



MEANS AND PLANS. 273 

is not surpassed by the same classes of society in any 
part of the Union ; and they are disposed to live on 
terms of perfect amity with their fellow citizens from 
eveiy section of our great country. They expect to 
find the citizens of the free Slates, at home and when 
they come South, entertaining views different from their 
own. They would not take away the right of private 
judgment and opinion. Tliey accord to others what 
they demand for themselves. But having had the insti- 
tution of slavery entailed upon them, and its existence 
recognized, and its perfect control and management 
secured to tliem under the Constitution, they claim 
exemption from the dictation and interference of people 
no way responsible for, nor affected by, the institution ; 
and the right to regulate it in such a manner as in their 
best judgment shall promote the best good of all con- 
cerned therein — the very riglit which has already been 
exercised by eight of the original " thirteen Slates," 
without any interference at all on the part of the re- 
maining States. Hence, occupying this ground, they 
make no objection to merchants, lawyers, physicians, 
divines, teachers or mechanics, coming and settling 
among them from any part of the world. They are 
entitled t;> their own opinions, but they ai-e neither to 
be expressed nor propagated so as to produce disturb- 
ance in society. 

6. The best for in of Church Organization for the 
Negroes.. 

In the free States it is judged most advisable both by 
whiles and blacks, that the latter should have their own 
houses of public worship and church organizations 
independent of the former. 



274 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OP THE NEGROES. 

But in the slave Stat?s it is vot advisable to separate 
the blacks from the whites. It is best that both classes 
worsMp in the same building ; that they be incorporated 
in the same church, under the same pastor, having ac- 
cess to the same ordinances, baptism and the Lord's 
supper, and at the same time ; and that they be subject 
to the same care and discipline; the two classes forming 
one pastoral charge, one church, one congregation. 

Should circumstances beyond control require the 
Negroes to meet in a separate building and have sepa- 
rate preaching, yet they should be considered part and 
parcel of the white church. Members should be ad- 
mitted and excommunicated, and ordinances administered 
in the presence of the united congregations. 

This mingling of the two classes in churches creates 
a greater bond of union between them, and kinder feel- 
ings ; tends to increase subordination; and promotes in 
a higher degree the improvement of the Negroes, in 
piety and morality. The reverse is, in the general, true 
of independent church organizations of the Negroes, 
in the slave States. 

The appointment of coZorecZ preachers and watchmen 
(the latter acting as a kind of elders,) by the white 
churches, and under their particular supervision, in 
many districts of country has been attended with happy 
effects, and such auxiliaries properly managed may be 
of grent advantage. 

Such are the means and plans for promoting and se- 
curing the religious instruction of the Negroes, in the 
United States, and of those in the Southern States in 
particular, which experience and observation have sug- 
gested to my own mind. And havinjr brought this part 
of the subject to a close, I have reached, in the good 
providence of God, the end of my undertaking. 



JtfEAXS AND PLANS. 275 

CONCLUSION. 

After saying so much on the Religious Instruction of 
the Negroes, I feel that the conclusion need not be ex- 
tended. 

I would respectfully and earnestly commend the sub- 
ject to the serious consideration of Masters. 

You are commanded of God " to give unto your ser- 
vants that which is just arid equal ; knowing that ye also 
have a master in heaven — neither is there respect of 
persons with him." The religious instruction of your 
people will promote your own interests for time and 
eternity, and will confer on them blessings infinitely 
valuable, even the redemption of the soul, which is 
precious. Your responsibilities in the word and provi- 
dence of God are very great. If you neglect them, a 
fearful account awaits you at the judgement seat of 
Christ ! Contribute, therefore, according to your ability, 
of your property, your influence and personal efl'orts, 
to this good work ; and do it speedil3\ 

I would commend the work also to Ministers of the 
Gospel. 

Our Divine Lord, *' though he was rich, yet for our 
sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, 
might be made rich." He was annoinieci of God "to 
preach die Gospel to the poor," and through him, while - 
on earth, " the poor have the Gospel preached to (^lem." 
In this he has left us an example that we should follow 
his steps ; for " the disciple must not be above his Lord," 
Like the Apostles of old, we should " be forward to 
remember the poor." It is disgrace and iniquity when 
we forget them ! God is judge! On the ministers of 
the Gospel the religious instruction of the Negroes in 



276 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE NEGROES. 

the United States depends, more than upon all the other 
classes and professions of society put together. It is 
their work. They are to promote it — by conversation, 
by preaching, and above all, by example, in personal 
labors. Tiiey have it in their power, by their piety and 
zeal and efforts, to advance and sustain this work, or by 
their impiety and lethargy, and absolute inactivity, to 
retard and break it down, throughout the length and 
breadth of the land. There has been neglect — shall it 
be said, a cnwiZ/iflZ neglect? I feel it. Others feel it. 
The whole country sees it. Can there be no refoimation? 
Shall the ministers of Jesus Christ never be moved 
with compassion on the multitudes who faint and are 
scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd? Shall 
their hearts' desire and prayer to God never be that this 
people may be saved? Shall they never be attracted 
and drawn towards this people by their very spiritual 
destitution and miseries, and spend and be spent for them, 
constrained by the love of Christ, towards their own 
souls? Alas ! it is the darkest feature in all this dark 
scene that the ministers of the Gospel, taken as a body, 
feel no more and do no more for the salvation of the 
Negroes in the United States ! Let no one suppose 
that we wish the church thrown into a state of excite- 
ment on the subject ; and the good that has been done, 
and now is doing, and the many able and efficient minis 
ters in this field to be overlooked and buried in obilvion. 
Let no one suppose that we wish this Avork to be repre- 
sented and urged before the country, as the great work 
to he done, to which all other works of benevolence are 
to contribute, and in comparison widi which they are 
nothing worth. Let no one suppose that we desire 
ministers to form great societies and distribute agents 



MEANS AND PLANS. 277 

over the land, to arouse their brethren to their duty. 
Far, very far from any thing of this kind are our views 
of propriety and our impressions of duty. On the 
contrary, there are organizations and associations enough 
in existence tlirough which every thing can be done, 
necessary to be done by them in the religious instruction 
of the Negroes. "What is required is that every minister 
do his own duty in his own sphere of m in isterial action ; 
let him begin with himself first, and then if oppoitunity 
offers, let him seek to influence others, in some of the 
ways already pointed out. 

I would commend the work also to the Members of 
the Church of Christ. 

You are expected to be forward to every good word 
and work. Here is an abundant opportunity for doing 
good opened before you. Enter into it for the improve- 
ment of your own graces, as well as for the salvation of 
souls. All your zeal for missions may find ample scope 
for exercise here. Be forward to superintend schools, 
to take classes, to act on committees of instruction, and 
be not weary in well doing, for in due season you shalF 
reap if you faint not. 

I would commend the work also to every Lover of his 
Country. 

The moral and religious improvement of two millions 
eight hundred thousand persons, must be identified with 
our individual peace and happiness, and with our national 
prosperity and honor. "Righteousness exaltelh a nation,' 
but sin is a reproach to any people." 



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